UWB (ultra-wideband) is an underutilized feature in Android smartphones, and one that’s rare to even have the hardware for in the first place. Google’s Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro both have UWB but, as it turns out, they’re still unable to use the new tracking features in Find Hub.
Google finally rolled out support for UWB tracking in Find Hub earlier this year. This takes advantage of UWB’s ability to precisely figure out the distance between your phone and another object, as well as the direction. Compared to Bluetooth tracking, it can save a lot of time in narrowing down exactly where a tracker is.
However, the feature is pretty limited in terms of availability.
First and foremost, only a single Find Hub tracker is equipped with UWB, and that’s the Moto Tag. An update finally unlocked the feature a few months ago.
Beyond that limitation, though, there’s also the fact that most Android phones don’t have the needed hardware. Google has been equipping its “Pro” Pixel phones with UWB for the past few generations, while Samsung includes UWB in its “Plus,” Fold, and “Ultra” devices. Motorola also includes UWB in select devices, but it’s far from widely available even in flagship-tier Android phones.
As it turns out, though, Google’s own Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro aren’t included on that list. The folks over at Android Authority noticed that, on a support page, Google says that UWB in Find Hub is limited to the Pixel 8 Pro and newer.
Important: UWB availability and performance varies by tag and device models with Android 13 and up. It is supported on devices including:
- Pixel 8 series and above (Pro models only)
- Samsung Galaxy S21 and above (Plus and Ultra models only)
- Motorola Edge and Razr
The reason for this is unclear, especially as further digging into the UWB capabilities of both phones revealed that the only thing that both devices lack is the ability to use UWB in the background, which shouldn’t apply to a foreground activity like Find Hub tracking.
It’s unclear if this will change at any point, but it’s a shame to see that, as limited as UWB tracking already is, two more Google phones don’t support it.
More on Find Hub:
- Find Hub app hits 1 billion downloads on Google Play Store
- This new Find Hub wallet tracker from UGreen is ultra-thin with 5-year battery life
- Chipolo is all-in on rechargeable batteries with new Loop and Card trackers for Android Find Hub
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