Rumoured HomePod mini, Apple TV Refresh to Feature Ultra Wideband Support

A prominent Apple leaker has been providing more details about a potential Apple TV refresh and new HomePod mini.

According to a new tweet from regular leaker Jon Prosser, the rumoured Apple HomePod mini and the new Apple TV will have support for Ultra Wideband (UWB) support for improved spatial awareness.

If true, the HomePod mini and the new Apple TV will be able to act as UWB base-stations, precisely tracking users’ location when inside the house.

This information will also be useful for media controls, brightness/volume control, and door locks. Seemingly, it will also turn regular hardware into HomeKit hardware.

HomePod mini & the new Apple TV will both act as UWB base-stations 🧐

– Will precisely track your location as you walk inside house with other U1 devices.

– Use info for media controls, brightness/volume control, & door locks.

Turns regular hardware into HomeKit hardware.

— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) October 12, 2020

Prosser continues, saying the new feature will also “be used in the Find My app when you’re away from home to alert you if any of your devices have been moved within or taken from your home.”

Ultra Wideband is a technology that allows devices to be located in 3D space in ways that isn’t otherwise possible. Apple is rumored to be bringing UWB chips to a number of upcoming devices including AirPods Studio and the rumoured the AirTags trackers. But Prosser says that putting the chips in an Apple TV and HomePod mini will allow specific location tracking around a home, opening up all kinds of possibilities.

Apart from the iPhone 11, the new Apple Watch Series 6 also comes with the U1 Ultra Wideband chip. Given the importance of this chip, it is not surprising that Apple plans to include it on the HomePod mini and the Apple TV as well.