Diving deep into Wear OS 5 Developer Preview reveals a couple of neat features coming to future smartwatches. Perhaps the first one to feature them is the upcoming Google Pixel Watch 3, scheduled for an August announcement.
The two most notable features in question are UWB and Bluetooth LE Audio. The UWB connectivity has been suggested in reports in the past, which would likely allow secure phone unlocking and more accurate location tracking of the phone and the watch. As long as the phone supports UWB as well, of course.
The Bluetooth LE Audio part is another feature that’s not readily available on smartwatches and the Pixel Watch 3 might be the first one to offer it. It’s a Bluetooth protocol initially designed for IoT devices needing Bluetooth connection but without draining the battery too much. After all, smart wearables and IoT devices have tiny batteries. However, Bluetooth LE alone can’t carry audio data, so smartwatches use the protocol just for connecting with your phone.
Bluetooth LE Audio support will allow the wearables to connect to your headphones and stream music. Moreover, the protocol is capable of connecting to more than one device simultaneously and streaming music. Essentially, people using their smartwatches for music streaming on the go will greatly benefit from the BT LE Audio protocol as it would preserve battery life.
Even though we still haven’t seen any smartwatches supporting the protocol, there are a handful of earbuds and headphones that transmit over BT LE. We just need the smartwatches now.
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