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

iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
iphone black friday gold

The Best Black Friday iPhone Deals Still Available

Friday November 28, 2025 6:24 am PST by
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Black Friday 2025 sales have kicked off at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and more. Right now we're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models during the holiday shopping season. Note: MacRumors is...
apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
Cyber Monday Deals 2025

Best Cyber Monday Apple Deals Include Big Discounts on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Sunday November 30, 2025 7:33 am PST by
Now that Black Friday is in the rearview mirror, Cyber Monday discounts have begun appearing online, and you can find popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more at all-time low prices. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may ...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Apple's Big Plans for iPad Mini 8

Friday November 28, 2025 8:39 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through the latest rumors about Apple's upcoming iPad mini 8. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The next-generation version of the iPad mini is expected to feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple...

Top Rated Comments

antiprotest Avatar
16 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
16 months ago
Yes! We can do sounding with our apple Pencils now!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
16 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
16 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)
MayaUser Avatar
16 months ago
This can also enable true lossless audio
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
name99 Avatar
16 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)