Google’s Find My Device could soon get UWB and AR upgrades
Damien Wilde / Android Authority TL;DR Code in the Find My Device app suggests Google is working on adding UWB support to the network. We also found code referencing AR actions, which speculatively fits nicely with the precision search feature enabled by UWB technology. None of these features are currently available and may or may […]
Damien Wilde / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Code in the Find My Device app suggests Google is working on adding UWB support to the network.
- We also found code referencing AR actions, which speculatively fits nicely with the precision search feature enabled by UWB technology.
- None of these features are currently available and may or may not be rolled out in the future.
Google’s Find My Device recently received a much-delayed but much-needed upgrade. You can leverage the ubiquity of Android phones and tablets around you to locate your lost Android device, boosting the Find My Device network on a scale that rivals and even beats Apple’s Find My network. However, Apple’s Find My network still remains at the forefront of using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, even though several Android flagships also feature UWB. Google might finally be working on using UWB with Find My Device, and might also spice it up with an AR upgrade.
A Teardown of the APK helps predict features that might come to a service in the future based on current work code. However, these planned features may not be available in a public release.
Find My Device could soon get UWB support
We’ve located code references in the latest Find My Device v3.1.078-1 app update that indicate Google is working on UWB features.
Coded
com/google/android/libraries/precisionfinding/ranging/UwbAdapter
com/google/android/libraries/precisionfinding/ranging/UwbAdapter$1
com/google/android/libraries/precisionfinding/ranging/UwbAdapter$2
Local UWB address: %s
Local UWB capabilities: %We spotted many mentions of UWBAdapter libraries and many other UWB mentions.
Google hasn’t yet mentioned the use of UWB technology in Find My Device, so this code detection is quite a new thing. It is also the next logical upgrade to the Find My Device network.
Apple equips several of its devices with UWB technology to enable high-precision indoor location tracking. UWB is also the not-so-secret sauce behind AirTag’s precise location tracking feature, which comes in handy if you’ve located the general area of your lost item but still need help locating exactly where it turns out that.
Find My Device could soon let you use AR too
Alongside the UWB mentions, we also spotted mentions of code for ARCore support in Find My Device. Some of the channels are mentioned below:
Coded
This application requires the latest version of Google Play Services for AR.
This feature requires the latest version of Google Play Services for AR.
Installing Google Play Services for ARThe code is only the initial implementation of ARCore (aka Google Play Services for AR), so it’s not immediately clear what features ARCore will enable.
Speculatively, ARCore pairs well with UWB support for precision searching. You could point your device in front of you and ARCore could use the camera feed and overlay it with directions and icons to help you find your device in the immediate vicinity (which UWB support will allow).
We see some of this in action with the Galaxy SmartTag 2, which uses UWB technology on Samsung’s SmartThings network and also uses AR for the item-finding UI.
The downside of the Galaxy SmartTag 2 is that it needs a Samsung Galaxy phone with UWB technology to work and it also needs the SmartThings app for its location functionality.
Since AR support for UWB is not yet specifically mentioned, it is possible that the AR-based UI will be available more generally in Find My Device and not remain limited to UWB trackers and devices.
If and when Google adds UWB support to Find My Device, we anticipate it will usher in a new generation of Android trackers that will work more widely on Android devices. With an augmented reality-based user interface, Android will have a slight advantage in locating lost items nearby until Apple catches up with the same trick.
Neither UWB support nor AR-based location UI are currently available in the Find My Device app. These features may or may not be rolled out in the future.
