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'HomePod mini' and Next Apple TV May Use Ultra Wideband to Track Your Location Around the Home

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Apple last year introduced a U1 chip in the iPhone 11 series that enables Ultra Wideband support for improved spatial awareness. The distance between two devices that support Ultra Wideband can be measured precisely by calculating the time that it takes for a radio wave to pass between the two devices, with much more accuracy than Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi.

homepodfeatures.jpg

Apple has so far only used the technology to power a directional AirDrop feature in iOS 13, and earlier this year, MacRumors teamed up with repair site iFixit to confirm that the 2020 iPad Pro lacks the U1 chip, however the fact that it is included in the Apple Watch Series 6 provides reassurance that Apple is still committed to Ultra Wideband.

Perhaps the most high-profile rumored feature for the U1 relates to Apple's AirTags item trackers that have yet to launch. In June, Apple also opened up its U1 chip to developers with a "Nearby Interaction" framework for iOS 14 that can stream distance and relative direction between U1-equipped devices.

These developments support the theory that Apple has big plans for the technology, and in a new Ultra Wideband-related rumor, leaker Jon Prosser has today claimed that the rumored "HomePod mini" expected to be announced tomorrow and next year's Apple TV model will act as "UWB base-stations," meaning they will be able to precisely track your location as you walk around the house with other U1 devices.

Prosser claims that as base stations the HomePod mini and Apple TV will use location information for media controls, brightness and volume controls, and door locks, effectively turning regular Apple hardware into HomeKit hardware. He also claims that the HomePod mini and new Apple TV will also be able to be "used in the Find My app when you're away from home, to alert you if any of your devices have been moved within or taken from your home."


According to Bloomberg, Apple is working on a new Apple TV with a faster processor and a revamped remote control. The updated remote control, which was also hinted at in iOS 14 code, is said to include a new feature that's similar to Find My iPhone for locating the remote when it's lost inside the house. However, the new Apple TV is expected to launch in 2021 rather than 2020. Prosser also recently claimed that Apple has "pushed back the announcement and launch of Apple's AirTags to March 2021."

Prosser has a mixed track record so far with Apple rumors. He was correct about both a second-generation iPhone SE being announced on April 15, 2020 and the 13-inch MacBook Pro being refreshed on May 4, 2020, but he has also shared a fair amount of incorrect information, including iOS switching back to iPhoneOS branding, the new iPhone SE having the same rear camera system as the iPhone XR, and fake images of an AirPower-like wireless charging mat, so take this latest rumor with a pinch of salt for now.

Article Link: 'HomePod mini' and Next Apple TV May Use Ultra Wideband to Track Your Location Around the Home
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/10/12/homepod-mini-new-apple-tv-may-feature-u1-chip/
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This is interesting.

So perhaps Apple is abandoning the ‘tile’ concept as a product in itself because it’s not needed, or they will be exclusively targeting their own existing products with the technology first.

UWB technology within their new devices is enough on its own to create innovative new experiences.

Such as tracking/movement or gesture features.

Example:

See your remote in AR visually stuck behind the sofa. Or find your Apple Watch in AR with increased beeping sounds on your iPhone based on your proximity to these devices.
 
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GadgetBen said:
This is interesting. So perhaps Apple is abandoning the ‘tile’ concept as a product in itself because it’s not needed.

I.e the UWB technology within the devices themselves is enough to create some innovative new experiences/tracking/movement or gesture features.
Click to expand...

They added a tab to Find My in past betas, as a place for the tagged items to appear.

There are still plenty of items/possessions/objects people want to track that don’t have U1.
 
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orbital~debris said:
They added a tab to Find My in past betas, as a place for the tagged items to appear.

There are still plenty of items/possessions/objects people want to track that don’t have U1.
Click to expand...

They will most likely release the technology first in their own existing products to avoid claims of unfair practices on Tile.
 
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Not sure how this technology could work but since the Apple Watch had it I guess the tv will know where you are and adjust the heating / lighting in that room accordingly or something like that
 
LFC2020 said:
Another useless feature to go with LiDAR 🤦‍♂️ This is where apple has been wasting their time instead of giving us 120hz.

Why would I want it to track me in my own house. 🤦‍♂️😂
Click to expand...

To auto-pause or lower the volume on Apple TV when you walk into another room?

To have music follow you from HomePod to HomePod as you move about your home?

Just a couple of thoughts using imagination.
 
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orbital~debris said:
To auto-pause or lower the volume on Apple TV when you walk into another room?

To have music follow you from HomePod to HomePod as you move about your home?

Just a couple of thoughts using imagination.
Click to expand...

Rather 120hz and smaller notch, how lazy can people be, lower the volume yourself. 😂

Let me guess these features will only be available in America, we’ll see them a few years later in Australia lol.

Just like mm wave 5g only in America for the iPhone 12s🥺
 
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LFC2020 said:
Rather 120hz and smaller notch, how lazy can people be, lower the volume yourself. 😂

Let me guess these features will only be available in America, we’ll see them a few years later in Australia lol.
Click to expand...

120hz is still coming (a more pertinent argument would be for giving customers a choice between 5G and 120hz since it sounds like the hardware can support the latter on the forthcoming iPhone Pro, but 5G support is not ubiquitous enough worldwide).

Likewise a more compact notch is coming (for non mini models) - probably next year.

with regards to laziness - this argument stopped holding any water the minute computers were invented. Anything humans can offload to a computer will be tried. Smart homes are the current best example. Sure, you don’t have to have those benefits - but they can be nice to have (and in some cases, genuinely useful).
 
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LFC2020 said:
Rather 120hz and smaller notch, how lazy can people be, lower the volume yourself.

Let me guess these features will only be available in America, we’ll see them a few years later in Australia lol.

Just like mm wave 5g only in America for the iPhone 12s
Click to expand...
120hz will be here this time next year.. Gives you something to look forward to next year lol
 
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LFC2020 said:
Another useless feature to go with LiDAR 🤦‍♂️ This is where apple has been wasting their time instead of giving us 120hz.

Why would I want it to track me in my own house. 🤦‍♂️😂
Click to expand...
I know what you mean. Despite all their hype and focus on AR, it still is very much a gimmick for most users. I'd much rather the focus was on battery, camera and screen technology.
 
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Futurix said:
I don't understand the obsession with 120hz - I've seen it and it didn't blow my mind or anything. Especially on a phone.

I just hope that HomePod mini is also a HomeKit hub just like the full size HomePod is - the rumour of it using Watch-derived hardware got me worried.
Click to expand...

I agree. I personally don't see a NEED for a 120Hz display on an iPhone, especially if it impacts battery life. I think tech-heads make a big deal of 120Hz because they have access to smartphones that do have it. Most Apple customers probably won't care if their iPhone doesn't support 120Hz but that's just my opinion. I had heard Apple couldn't get enough 120Hz display panels, but that was just one of a few reasons why Apple didn't put them on iPhones.
 
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New Apple TV with a UWB chip could potentially track your intensity/movement along with the sensors on your Apple Watch to provide an epic Fitness Plus experience.

Could this be disguised by Apple in plain sight as movement 'intensity'?

A quick Google search reveals that "UWB indoor positioning systems are able to pinpoint location in real time to within 20 centimetres or less."

Screenshot 2020-10-12 at 13.08.23.png
 
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