Google appears to be readying a new Nest smart speaker that supports ultra-wideband (UWB) connectivity, which will likely match Apple’s HomePod’s “Handoff” feature that lets you interact with an iPhone just by getting close.
Soon a Nest with ultra wideband?
The research giant is currently developing several connected speakers as part of the Fuchsia, Clover and Buckeye projects. The former appears to be a third-gen Nest Mini, while the latter is mostly led by the chipmaker Amlogic on behalf of Google.
But in recent weeks Google’s developers have regained control, including on Project Buckeye which is expected to lead to a Nest speaker in 2023. The higher-end processor and audio chip suggest it will either act as a successor to the Nest Audio from 2019, something to replace the Google Home Max from 2017.
According to the newly released Fuchsia code, this next Nest speaker – possibly a “Nest Audio Pro” – will feature support for UWB, ultra-wideband technology.
Featured on iPhones since 2019 and iPhone 11, UWB is a short-range wireless connection that allows things like finding a missing AirTag with 5-10 centimeter accuracy or serving as a digital car key like in latest BMWs. Apple also uses UWB technology to power “Handoff”, a way to transfer music from an iPhone to a HomePod mini when approaching, or to AirDrop share between two iPhones.
Ultra-wideband is on the way at Google
UWB is also available on the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro, but isn’t used for much at the moment other than Nearby Sharing. This week again, during theAndroid Dev SummitGoogle gave a more direct look at what UWB can and should be able to do on Android.
In Android 13, it was discovered that Google was preparing a “Tap to Transfer” function. So, a new indicator instructed you to “move closer” to a particular speaker to play your music on the other device. But nothing has been announced when the final version is released.
Knowing now that Google seems to be readying a new high-end speaker – with UWB and apparently higher audio quality – it’s clear that the Pixel team’s efforts on UWB and “Tap to Transfer” have resulted in closer integration with the Nest division.
This could provide an additional argument for the Google ecosystem and its Nest range, which is clearly inspired by Apple.