If you’re traveling this year, there’s a decent chance you can now use the Ultra Wideband functionality in additional countries.
The Ultra Wideband functionality found in the Apple Watch Series 6, iPhone 11, and iPhone 12, has now been expanded to additional countries, including Argentina, Pakistan, Paraguay, and the Solomon Islands.
Apple is not allowed to activate Ultra Wideband technology in some countries due to international regulatory requirements, and it must be disabled in those places. All of the above listed countries previously did not allow UWB technology.
The feature continues to be disabled in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
As for the technology itself, the U1 chip found in the aforementioned Apple devices is designed to offer much more precise positioning information than either Bluetooth or WiFi. This, in turn, makes it ideal for spatial awareness and more precise indoor mapping.
Ultra Wideband technology is required for the Precision Finding feature available for AirTags in the Find My app, and it is also used for Car Key functionality and more precise AirDropping between devices with a U1 chip.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and support.apple.com