It turns out not every phone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite will actually support UWB, as it’s up to device makers to actually enable it.
When Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 8 Elite earlier this month, Android Authority reported that every smartphone with the new chip would support UWB connectivity.
This is because the FastConnect 7900 connectivity platform integrates Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and UWB on a single chip, so OEMs don’t need to add any extra hardware if they use it.
However, Qualcomm has now confirmed to us that it’s up to OEMs to enable UWB, and several are not.
Qualcomm unveiled its long-awaited Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-chip earlier this month, ushering in a new era of high-performance Android phones. The Snapdragon 8 Elite packs a lot of AI and performance-related improvements, but it also has some connectivity-related enhancements, too. We were hoping that one of those improvements would be built-in ultra-wideband support for every phone with the chipset, but unfortunately, not every phone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite will support the technology.
Ultra-wideband, or UWB for short, is a short-range wireless communication protocol that enables super-precise location tracking. It enhances the experience of using your Android phone as a digital car key, connecting to nearby devices to share files over Quick Share, or casting media to your Pixel Tablet. It’s also what makes Apple’s AirTags really good at locating your misplaced belongings, which is something that item trackers compatible with Google’s Find My Device network aren’t as good at yet. The reason for that is that the Find My Device network doesn’t support using UWB to locate items, but that’s set to change in the near future. Unfortunately, many upcoming flagship Android phones won’t be ready to take advantage of that or any other UWB-enabled feature, as their OEMs will skip the feature to reduce costs.
