Google is constantly adding new features to its Chromebooks in order to keep up with competitors, and this potential new feature could help the humble Chromebook surpass its competition. The tech giant seems to be working on integrating ‘Ultra Wide Band’ capabilities into Chromebooks.
Ultra Wide Band allows for low energy, high bandwidth short-range communication between devices, which can transfer data at speeds up to 1Gbps. It’s currently used in a limited number of Android and Apple products to determine a device’s position or movements, though its potential far surpasses this. GSMArena notes that UWB is so powerful it could feasibly replace Bluetooth and NFC, and possibly even Wi-Fi, thanks to its high-frequency bands.
In Chromebooks, this could bring about a kind of ‘Airdrop’ feature for ChromeOS that is already found across the Apple hardware portfolio, as well as possible improvements to wider Chromebook-to-Chromebook and Chromebook-to-Phone connections.
This potential new feature could make sharing files and staying connected across devices much easier, as you could work away on your projects or documents, and transfer them swiftly to fellow students or coworkers to keep working on your Google phones or tablets. The tech is still in the fledgling phase right now, but Google is reportedly experimenting across a wide range of possible applications - so hopefully we’ll see them come to life soon.
