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Apple Quietly Releases UWB Support to iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Devices |
NEWS |
Though much of the talk about the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro has centered on their new “ultra-wide” camera, perhaps the most exciting and innovative development was their inclusion of the U1 Ultra-Wideband (UWB) chipset, making the iPhone 11 first smartphone to market with UWB technology. Apple has stated that the new Apple-designed UWB U1 chip will leverage the technology to determine an iPhone’s precise location in relation to other UWB-equipped Apple devices. In terms of use cases, to date, Apple has only explicitly announced that its AirDrop feature on U1-capable devices will take advantage of this additional precision to determine if another U1 device is nearby, allowing an iPhone user to point at another iPhone to put it at the top of the AirDrop list. However, Apple is also heavily rumored to be developing its own personal tracking tags leveraging UWB technology. It is not yet clear whether Apple’s UWB capabilities will be locked in to Apple’s own devices, features, and apps, or if the technology will be able to operate alongside UWB-capable Android devices that are likely to emerge over the next 12 months. However, Apple’s decision to incorporate UWB capabilities follows a resurgence in interest and new technical enhancements for UWB technology over the last couple of years, and UWB technology itself has tremendous potential for a wide range of applications and could transform the way we interact with our environments and devices in the coming years.
A Resurgent UWB Ecosystem Boosted by 802.15.4z |
IMPACT |
In addition to Apple’s support for the technology, a number of other developments over the last few years have been pushing UWB into the spotlight:
What is the Future for UWB? |
RECOMMENDATIONS |
To date, UWB has carved out some success within Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS) applications. Companies such as Decawave have shipped over 7 million UWB chipsets to the market. However, the wider potential of UWB and 802.15.4z is enormous. The technology could help to transform the way in which smartphones, wearables, and other devices interact with objects around us, enabling more seamless and secure access control, much more accurate indoor positioning, and more accurate point-to-point services for personal trackers or smart home interaction. The figure below highlights some of the key potential use cases for UWB as defined by the FiRa Consortium.
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UWB leverages Time of Flight (ToF) to calculate the distance between two devices. As UWB utilizes large channel bandwidths of 500 MHz and short pulses, it can achieve cm-level accuracy—and at very high speeds. This real-time high accuracy positioning means that it can determine whether a device is moving toward or away from an object, such as a door or car. This means that false triggers can be avoided. For example, if you were close to a car but moving away from it, the car would remain locked. Conversely, if you are heading toward a car, it would unlock ahead of time for seamless secure entry. When driving the car home, the garage door could automatically unlock upon arrival, and your front door would automatically open when you leave the car and walk toward the home. UWB also provides secure ranging. Unlike conventional positioning methods that rely on signal strength to determine proximity, which can be tricked via signal amplifiers, UWB calculates the precise physical distance between two devices and cannot be tricked in the same way. As a result, this can provide better security for access applications. Companies such as Decawave also envisage UWB being leveraged for secure and seamless payments and ticketing within transport or retail applications.
With Apple early to market, and 802.15.4z already backed by Samsung and NXP, ABI Research believes it is only a matter of time before other mobile devices support UWB technology. The integration in Apple alone will boost UWB shipments considerably in 2019 and 2020. Companies such as Decawave are also bullish about UWB becoming a mainstream technology over the next five years as it begins to proliferate in mobile accessories, tracking tags, door locks, smart home, and other consumer applications. However, UWB still faces a number of challenges. Firstly, the ecosystem will take time to build out on both the chipset and device levels, so valuable use cases may take a while to hit the mainstream. Secondly, much will need to be done on the branding side to ensure consumer awareness is built around the technology and avoid confusion. It is not yet clear if UWB or FiRa or another title will be given to the new secure ranging technology in order to boost wider awareness of it and its capabilities. The extent to which Apple will open this technology for interoperability purposes or keep its features tied down to the Apple ecosystem is also not yet clear. In addition, UWB integration may be reserved for flagship smartphones until costs fall and compelling UWB use cases and accessories come to the market in considerable volumes. NFC has built success through mobile payments, and UWB will need to develop similarly compelling use cases in order to justify its inclusion in mainstream smartphones.