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According to TechCrunch, Tile is working on a new tracking device that relies on ultra-wband (UWB) technology, which would put the company in direct competition with Apple's yet-to-be announced AirTags. The new tracker will go a step further than the company's Bluetooth devices, allowing you to more accurately know how a lost item relates to you, without having to listen to the tracker's ring tone.

Apple's AirTags isn't officially available yet, but it already has a list of potential features, such as telling you if you've left an item behind, or using augmented reality to help you find lost items. Samsung has also expressed interest in offering similar features, so Tile could potentially share space with two larger companies. Apple demonstrated the UWB and its U1 chip in the iPhone 11, which lets you direct an airdrop of files by pointing at the phone, but tracking apps are more fun.

UWB (not to be confused with Verizon's UWB 5G) works a bit like Bluetooth Low Power. It emits low-energy, short-range pulses at high frequencies to transmit wireless data. Using Bluetooth and your phone's GPS, Tile displays the general location of something on a map, but more precisely, it relies on sound to help you find something. If you are in more than one room away, the UWB device can work, showing you a more precise position of the object through the wall or floor, while still providing the current functionality of tiles.

Imagine when an object of value is locked inside. Tile's app (or Apple's or Samsung's) lets you use your phone to superimpose augmented reality images on your camera, pointing you in the right direction. In fact, it looks more useful and less annoying than the loud chirp that Tile's tracker emits (which I almost always accidentally trigger).

Even more exciting, you may already have a device that supports these features. Apple has been using the U1 chip to integrate UWB into its popular smartphones since the launch of the iPhone 11. It has also started putting chips into the Apple Watch, starting with the Series 6. Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 Ultra already has UWB capability, and the upcoming Galaxy S21 Ultra has also been confirmed to have UWB capability.

Not every device sold by the two companies has a UWB (Apple devices like the iPhone SE, Apple Watch SE and iPad Pro don't), but since Apple and Samsung are the world's two largest device makers, adoption could happen quickly.

No date has been set for the launch of Tile's UWB tracker, but UWB seems to be a big deal, especially now that Apple has opened up the U1 chip in iOS 14. In the past, Tile and Apple have been at odds over default location-sharing Settings, but at least both companies seem to agree on the potential of 2021 UWB.

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