No U1 Chip on the M1 Macbooks?

[yasas]

I was surprised to see that the U1 chip wasn’t included in the new MacBooks.

Since Apple put it into the Apple Watch and is rumored to include it into the Apple TV, AirPods... considering that UWB Technology is especially useful if surrounded by a net of other U1 chips nearby.

I was imagining for Apple to introduce some sort of tile-like trackabality of all their new devices. Possibly working in a low power mode, even while shut off.

How far gone do you guys think are we from a usable implementation of that said chip ?

 

[CWallace]

Well it's not in the 2020 iPad Pro, 2020 iPad, 2020 iPad Air, 2020 iPhone SE or the 2020 Apple Watch SE so maybe Apple feels that only iPhones currently only really benefit from having it since if you have any Apple device on you, it's almost certainly going to be an iPhone?

 

[yasas]

Well it's not in the 2020 iPad Pro, 2020 iPad, 2020 iPad Air, 2020 iPhone SE or the 2020 Apple Watch SE so maybe Apple feels that only iPhones currently only really benefit from having it since if you have any Apple device on you, it's almost certainly going to be an iPhone?

It’s in the HomePod Mini as well. It just seems quite random at this point in time. It’s a weird move for Apple not to include it in the higher end IPads or MacBooks. Idk.
, we might understand more in 2021.

 

[dieselm]

It could be in there. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t. It could also be an antenna or components issue.

From a marketing perspective, U1 would be an unfamiliar hardware difference they’d have to explain.
The message is the new machines are the old machines except for the amazing M1.

This sidesteps any commentary including sentences like ‘wtf is u1’?

 

[ocrane]

It would have been nice to see the spatial audio feature available on the new AS macs.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Spatial Audio might be a feature Apple can turn on later in software with the newly announced ASi Macs.

Remember that Spatial Audio didn't exist until the right iPods Pro firmware with the right iOS software was available.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Spatial Audio works fine on my iPhone X, which doesn't have a U1 chip. I imagine that isn't a deal-breaker for macOS, either. (Although it isn't in macOS Big Sur, disappointingly; as I'd find it far more useful on Mac than on iPhone.

 

[ocrane]

Sorry looks like its a gyroscope and accelerometer requirement, not U1. Still looks like its not coming to macbooks yet

 

[matrix07]

It would have been nice to see the spatial audio feature available on the new AS macs.

Just used AirPods Pro. 😀