Google’s Pixel Watch 3 may have just become one of the most advanced Android smartwatches on the market, but without much fanfare. According to Android Authority, the wearable’s Wear OS 5.1 update that rolled out in March quietly introduced support for Channel Sounding, which enables precise distance measurement between devices.
The feature is part of the Bluetooth 6.0 protocol that was introduced by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) last year, and works by calculating how long it takes for multiple radio signals that’s transmitted across different frequencies to travel between two connected devices. Unlike traditional Bluetooth trackers, which estimate distance based on signal strength (often affected by walls and interference), this method can provide centimetre-level accuracy along with directional awareness.
This allows devices like the Pixel Watch 3 to act similarly to those that use Ultra-Wideband (UWB) tech, such as Apple’s AirTag and Find My network, without needing UWB-specific radios and antennas. The key advantage here is cost and accessibility, as Channel Sounding uses standard Bluetooth hardware already found in most smartphones, smartwatches, and wireless earphones.
Despite being supported in the Pixel Watch 3, the feature isn’t fully active yet. As one of the first Android devices to implement Channel Sounding, it still lacks ecosystem-wide compatibility. Even though Bluetooth 6.0 hardware is already present in many newer gadgets, they’ll need corresponding software support to make use of this capability.
(Source: Android Authority)
