One Of The Biggest New Features On The Google Pixel 10 Is Also One Of The Most Overlooked

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Pixel 10 is nan first US telephone to get Bluetooth 6.
• Bluetooth 6 adds upgrades, including precise transmission sounding.
• Both devices request Bluetooth 6 to afloat return advantage, truthful take will beryllium slow.

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Google's Pixel 10 smartphones debuted pinch plentifulness of noteworthy features, including autochthonal magnetic wireless charging, an industry-first IP68 dust- and waterproof foldable telephone design, and more intuitive AI features. One of nan astir important updates, however, is nan phone's take of Bluetooth 6, making them nan first successful nan US pinch nan latest Bluetooth connectivity standard.

Also: Every Pixel instrumentality announced astatine Made by Google yesterday: 10 Pro Fold, Watch, Buds, more

In summation to improving wireless connections' stability, powerfulness consumption, and strength, Bluetooth 6 introduces transmission sounding, which makes instrumentality location search much accurate. Despite its 2024 release, Bluetooth 6 and Channel Sounding are successful nan painfully slow take process. Still, 2 Pixel devices are compatible pinch it. Here's what it intends for you now and successful nan future.

What is transmission sounding?

Channel sounding builds connected Bluetooth LE's positioning exertion to alteration 2 devices to found nan region betwixt them. Currently, Bluetooth devices usage awesome spot to find distance, but transmission sounding measures nan clip it takes for nan awesome to travel. This much unafraid and meticulous method provides instrumentality location accusation down to nan centimeter.

Current Bluetooth-enabled instrumentality search tin show you wherever your instrumentality is, successful a wide sense, but Channel Sounding should beryllium capable to alert you that your instrumentality is wrong 10 feet and low-lying to nan right, wedged betwixt your sofa cushions.

Also: This Pixel 10 Pro camera characteristic sets a precocious barroom for nan iPhone 17 Pro to beat

According to Bluetooth, Channel Sounding, aliases precision location tracking, requires a hardware update. However, existing devices tin beryllium upgraded to support Bluetooth LE, which provides basal location awareness.

Accurate location-tracking devices, for illustration AirTags, person an soul ultra-wideband (UWB) chip, which immunodeficiency successful ultra-precise location tracking. UWB is incredibly precise, but it's much costly and analyzable than Bluetooth to instrumentality universally.

Which Pixel devices person Bluetooth 6?

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

The Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold support Bluetooth 6. Thanks to a caller Wear OS update, nan Pixel Watch 3 besides supports transmission sounding. Google has not confirmed really it supplied nan Pixel Watch 3 pinch this update, considering Bluetooth type updates historically require caller hardware.

Also: Google conscionable copied nan worst characteristic of modern iPhones (but not each dream is lost)

Bluetooth 6 besides brings faster Bluetooth instrumentality scanning, better-quality audio codecs, improved audio and video latency streaming for Bluetooth LE devices, and much businesslike connections.

What does this mean for nan future?

Bluetooth's extremity is to standardize technologies crossed devices. When introduced successful 1999, Bluetooth intended to standardize our connection methods, eliminating wires for connecting to headphones, phones, and computers.

Also: I'm a longtime iPhone user, but nan Google Pixel 10 has maine reconsidering my loyalty

Today, wireless connection and connections are standard, and Bluetooth's adjacent situation is standardizing transmission sounding. It would instrumentality unafraid and meticulous location capabilities into each of our Bluetooth devices, 1 time enabling our smartphones to act arsenic integer car and location keys.

Gone would beryllium nan days of surviving wrong a instrumentality ecosystem to entree instrumentality search features. Picture this: alternatively of purchasing a dedicated location locator to find your gym bag, your headphones, earbuds, aliases tablet wrong your container could enactment arsenic its Bluetooth tracker.

Apple's iPhone 17 and Samsung's Galaxy 26 lineup, which are slated to merchandise this autumn and early adjacent year, respectively, are nan adjacent smartphones to perchance person Bluetooth 6 support.

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