Google engaged on iPhone-like Discover My Gadget characteristic for Pixel 8
2 min read
Google is engaged on an iPhone-like characteristic for the Pixel 8 to assist customers observe down misplaced or stolen telephones, even when the gadget is powered off.
In accordance with a report from 91Mobiles, Google is prepping a characteristic that may preserve the Bluetooth radio lively even when the telephone has been powered off.
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This, the report says, would allow discovery of the telephone and its location utilizing close by units and Extremely Wideband (UWB) know-how. It’s sounds much like the ‘Discover My’ community Apple makes use of with iPhones, Macs and its devoted AirTag trackers.
Google is reportedly set to unveil its personal model of the AirTag trackers beneath the codename ‘Grogu’, which is presumably a nod to the ‘Child Yoda’ character from The Mandalorian.
The characteristic is alleged to depend on {hardware} to speak with the Bluetooth chip within the telephone, so it may not be a characteristic we see trickle all the way down to older telephones. Google is alleged to be working with Android telephone producers to encourage adoption for his or her subsequent smartphones.
The invention of the characteristic got here from digging round within the Android 14 supply code, with one string studying “{hardware}.google.bluetooth.power_off_finder“.
This is able to seemingly make sure the telephone continued to ship energy to the Bluetooth chip even when the telephone is powered off. After all, there would nonetheless should be energy throughout the telephone to ship to the Bluetooth chip, nevertheless it’s seemingly there’ll be sufficient residual energy throughout the telephone to maintain the Bluetooth chip discoverable generally.
It will seemingly take loads of telephones to undertake the characteristic for it to change into really helpful, given the Apple model leverages a large community of lots of of thousands and thousands of appropriate iPhones.
That is doubtlessly one thing we may see Google announce as a part of Android 14 at Google I/O in Could and undoubtedly one to control.
