An apparently routine update proved to be much more interesting than expected. Google Pixel Watch 3after the initial difficulties with Wear OS 5.1 – released in March, withdrawn for bugs and then distributed again in April – hides an unprecedented function. Is called Channel Sounding And it is a novelty linked to the recent Bluetooth 6.0 standard.
The portal Android Authority He found this feature that was hidden within the code. To date it has not yet been activated. But the simple fact that it is also only present makes the Pixel Watch 3 one of the first Android devices ready to exploit it. It is a technology that It allows you to locate other connected devices with great precision. Thus exploiting a much more reliable system than traditional techniques based on signal intensity.
Goodbye interference: Google Pixel Watch aims at ultra -precise location and geolocation
Unlike classical methods, which estimate the distance between Bluetooth devices by evaluating the signal power, Channel Sounding adopts a completely different approach. It measures the time used by multiple radio signals transmitted to different frequencies, calculating the effective distance more precisely. This method allows a surprising precision, with Margins of error reduced a few centimeters.
According to Bluetooth Mr, the body that supervises the sector standards, technology also guarantees directional information. This makes it similar to UWB (Ultra-Wideband), already adopted by Apple for its Airtag and iPhone, but with an important advantage: Channel Sounding works with normal bluetooth chips, then It does not require hardware again.
To take advantage of it fully, however, it will also be necessary that the other devices involved support the Bluetooth 6.0 protocol. The novelty is not yet usable, but everything suggests that activation is only a matter of time. And, when it happens, the Pixel Watch 3 could become a key tool for advanced location, not only in fitness but also in daily life.
