Bluetooth 6 Launches, Could Enhance iPhone's Precision Finding Feature - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Bluetooth 6 Launches, Could Enhance iPhone's Precision Finding Feature

The latest version of Bluetooth was released this week, and it includes a new feature that could benefit the Find My app across Apple devices.

precision finding airtag design session
Bluetooth 6.0 introduces "Channel Sounding," a feature that will bring "true distance awareness" to billions of future Bluetooth devices and accessories. The organization behind Bluetooth promises that this technology will achieve "centimeter-level accuracy over considerable distances," making it easier and quicker for users to locate lost items.

Apple already offers a Precision Finding feature in the Find My app that leverages Ultra Wideband technology to help users pinpoint the specific location of select accessories. The feature is available on the iPhone 11 and newer, and currently it can be used to find an AirTag or a second-generation AirPods Pro charging case.

Apple could use both Bluetooth 6.0 and Ultra Wideband technologies in unison to improve Precision Finding. Bluetooth 6.0 also paves the way for Precision Finding-like location accuracy for devices that are not equipped with Ultra Wideband chips, such as the Apple TV's Siri Remote and devices released by other companies.

It is unclear when the first devices with Bluetooth 6.0 will be released, but given that the specification is only just now available to hardware manufacturers and developers, the first Apple devices with support are likely at least a year away.

Popular Stories

apple pro tell logo

Apple Launching Five New Products Today

Thursday November 5, 2026 12:59 am PST by
Apple is launching five new products on Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models. The following new products will be available from today: iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip iMac with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen 16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...
duo aquarium

More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try

Friday November 6, 2026 3:27 pm PST by
When the iPhone Duo launched, we shared a list of some of the fun apps developers created for the new form factor. Two weeks out, developers are continuing to come up with fresh ideas, so we thought we'd share some of our favorites. Games Marbles Unhinged ($2.99) - Marbles Unhinged is a marble maze designed for the Duo. When you fold it, the floor turns into a ramp. If you stand the top...
silver iphone 18 pro

Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year

Friday November 6, 2026 6:07 am PST by
Apple plans to merge the iPhone's Action button with the Camera Control starting next year, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker claimed that a single press of the combined button would open the camera, while a long press would trigger the function assigned to the Action button. They explicitly clarified that the dedicated Action button would ...

Top Rated Comments

antiprotest Avatar
29 months ago

confused. It will bring this technology to billions of existing devices? Last paragraph seems to contradict?
It's like when someone tells you to download more RAM.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrRom92 Avatar
29 months ago
Yes! We can do sounding with our apple Pencils now!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
29 months ago

confused. It will bring this technology to billions of existing devices? Last paragraph seems to contradict?
Yes, the Bluetooth SIG says billions of Bluetooth devices are released every year. I added a "future" there for clarity.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheWraith Avatar
29 months ago

the technology to ping/find a device has been around for 5+ years on Apple's devices, yet 1)it works only with Apple sanctioned products and 2)it works ONLY with AirTags or 2nd Gen AirPods Pro charging cases.

Really? That's the best Apple can do over the past 5+ years?
I don’t understand how you want Apple to have rolled this out industry wide.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
29 months ago

You ever notice new standards come out really fast on paper then take years to implement?
Must be a Lawyer thing slows it all down.
Wifi 7
Bluetooth 6.0
PCIe-7
Thunderbolt 5
This is because you have no idea how the standards process works...

Pretty much every "consumer facing" standard has two elements. Take, for example, 802.11
There is the IEEE which puts together the technical standard. This process takes many many years, in part because the IEEE is trying to ensure that every weird edge case that the spec is supposed to cover is in fact covered, and covered correctly. This, in turn, is because some elements of the spec are very niche, only of interest to a few specific use cases, but those elements still have to be correct, and to work correctly with the rest of the spec,

Then there is the WiFi Alliance, which is a group of companies selling hardware to consumers. The WiFi Alliance is not interested in niche cases, they are interested in INTEROPERABILITY. So what they will do is, once the IEEE DRAFT spec is solid enough with respect to the elements that matter to consumers, the WiFi Alliance will essentially lock down which of the (many many elements, most of them optional) of the new spec MUST be present in "WiFi" equipment.
The IEEE will say things like "an 802.11 device may choose methods A, B, or C for indicating that it wants to switch modulation modes"; WiFi will say "a WIFI device MUST support method A" and doesn't care if B and C are supported, they are for specialist use of some sort, not for the consumer market.

And so depending on exactly what you are interested in, standards become "available" at very different times.
At a certain point the WiFi Alliance will decide on the elements of WiFi 7, based on a particular version of the draft IEEE 802.11be spec. They will announce this, because these details matter to SOME people (for example companies writing SW targeting WiFi 7, and companies planning chipsets to be labelled WiFi 7). There will still be a year or two before you can buy anything because it takes time to convert the agreed upon WiFi 7 spec into hardware+software.

Meanwhile, on a different track, the IEEE will continue wrangling about ever more esoteric and specialized elements on the 802.11be spec and at some point (generally a year or two later than when WiFi7 HW is available) the final 802.11be spec will be released.

This basically works because the adults in the process understand that consumers have one set of needs, while various specialized users have a very different set of needs, and they're all working together to sync these different use cases.
Where it fails to work is when whiny twits can't tell the difference between one group (802.11 vs WiFi) or pretend that their super-specialized use case is in fact a generic consumer use case, and then get angry that the WiFi 7 equipment they bought is, in fact WIFI 7 spec and not 802.11be spec (specifically that it doesn't support some, by definition OPTIONAL, part of the 802.11be spec).

There can be legal elements that slow this down, submarine patents and such like, but USUALLY that is not the case. It's simply a fact that this stuff is astonishingly complex (and by definition more so with every spec - if something was easy we would have done it in version 2 of the spec, not version 7!)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
29 months ago
This can also enable true lossless audio
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
Apple Taking New Approach to Developing iOS 28 and macOS 28
Apple Taking New Approach to Developing iOS 28 and macOS 28
39 minutes ago
Early Apple Black Friday Deals on Apple Watch, MacBook Air, and More
Early Apple Black Friday Deals on Apple Watch, MacBook Air, and More
20 hours ago
'Backglow' Lets You Customize New MacBook Pro's Glowing Apple Logo
'Backglow' Lets You Customize New MacBook Pro's Glowing Apple Logo
20 hours ago
Top Stories: Apple Product Launches, iOS 27.3 Beta, and More
Top Stories: Apple Product Launches, iOS 27.3 Beta, and More
1 day ago
More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try
More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try
2 days ago
Hands-On With Apple's New OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro
Hands-On With Apple's New OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro
2 days ago
Apple Store With All-New Design Opening Soon in Southern California
Apple Store With All-New Design Opening Soon in Southern California
2 days ago
Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
2 days ago
Apple Shares New 'Apple Card: Apply and Use in Minutes' Ad
Apple Shares New 'Apple Card: Apply and Use in Minutes' Ad
2 days ago
Apple Says More Than 100,000 Apps Optimized for iPhone Duo, Here's What's Still Missing
Apple Says More Than 100,000 Apps Optimized for iPhone Duo, Here's What's Still Missing
2 days ago
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
2 days ago
The MacRumors Show: iOS 27.3 Looks Like a Huge Update
The MacRumors Show: iOS 27.3 Looks Like a Huge Update
2 days ago
Best Buy's Black Friday Event Begins With Sitewide Savings on Apple, TVs, More
Best Buy's Black Friday Event Begins With Sitewide Savings on Apple, TVs, More
2 days ago
Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week
Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week
2 days ago
MacBook Air Drops to Lowest Price in Months With Amazon's $250 Discount
MacBook Air Drops to Lowest Price in Months With Amazon's $250 Discount
2 days ago
Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year
Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year
2 days ago
Apple's Extended Return Policy Now in Effect for 2026 Holiday Season
Apple's Extended Return Policy Now in Effect for 2026 Holiday Season
2 days ago
Apple Music Classical Updated With New Icon and Refreshed Design
Apple Music Classical Updated With New Icon and Refreshed Design
2 days ago
OLED iPad Mini, M6 iMac, and New MacBook Pros Available From Today
OLED iPad Mini, M6 iMac, and New MacBook Pros Available From Today
2 days ago
Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera
Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera
3 days ago
Apple's First Touchscreen Mac is Now Arriving to Customers
Apple's First Touchscreen Mac is Now Arriving to Customers
3 days ago
Claude Gets Personal Finance Feature With Bank Account Linking
Claude Gets Personal Finance Feature With Bank Account Linking
3 days ago
Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27
Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27
3 days ago
Apple's New HomeView Smart Home Hub: Here's How Much RAM It Has
Apple's New HomeView Smart Home Hub: Here's How Much RAM It Has
3 days ago
iPad Mini vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Now Just $50 Apart
iPad Mini vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Now Just $50 Apart
3 days ago
First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
3 days ago
Apple Announces a New Mac Sales Record
Apple Announces a New Mac Sales Record
3 days ago
Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature
Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature
3 days ago
Instagram's Edits Video Editor is Now Available on Mac
Instagram's Edits Video Editor is Now Available on Mac
3 days ago
Prevent Siri and Search From Accessing Specific iPhone Apps
Prevent Siri and Search From Accessing Specific iPhone Apps
3 days ago