The Google Pixel 6 appears to be getting a significant upgrade to compete with the iPhone 13 and Galaxy S21.

Ultra-wideband (UWB) connectivity is something that both Apple and Samsung have recently added to their flagship devices. This wireless communication protocol has a longer range than Bluetooth and can pinpoint objects to a few inches rather than a few feet. It is available for smart home devices, but is particularly useful for location tracking, and is used in Apple's AirTags, Samsung's SmartTag Plus, and the upcoming Tile.

So far, its adoption has been limited to high-end devices, with only the iPhone 11 and 12 families and Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra, Plus, and Note 20 Ultra as of this writing. However, this is likely to change, as Google is reportedly experimenting with the technology in several upcoming devices, expected to be Pixel 6 devices.

Mishaal Rahman of XDA Developers first tweeted that the technology is being tested on the supposed Pixel 6 device, codenamed "raven."

It is unclear what purpose Google will use this technology for. At the time of this writing, none of the company's "Nest" smart home devices support UWB (although, of course, the possibility that they will in the future cannot be ruled out), and we have not heard of Google developing its own smart tracker.

It is possible that Google simply wants to focus on future-proofing, but given that the last Pixel 5 dropped out of the high-end flagship race with a more competitively priced mid-range device, that seems unreasonable. If this pattern holds true for the Pixel 6, one would imagine that the company would be trimming the non-essential "nice to have" features rather than adding the necessary ones.

Nevertheless, 9to5Google has viewed documents supporting Google's actual use of UWB hardware allegedly developed by Qorvo. The site does not provide any additional inside information on how it is used, but notes that the open-source UWB code for Android 12 currently deals with calculating the distance and angle between devices with the technology built in. The site adds that the technology is limited to system apps, meaning it is not available to third-party Android developers.

While the Pixel 5a is close enough that camera samples have been leaked directly through Google's own blog, the Pixel 6 is still a ways off and leaked information is fairly scarce. One thing that could be a game changer, however, is for Google to take the Apple route and use its own chips instead of relying on Qualcomm like most other Android manufacturers.

The GS101 White Chapel chip is reportedly a joint venture between Google and Samsung ("GS" is speculated to stand for "Google Silicon"), and both companies are hoping the chip will offer the same great performance as Apple's A-series chips If the Pixel 6 is indeed using Google's own silicon, we look forward to benchmarking the device when it arrives this fall.