Earlier today, we learned that the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is the first Android smartphone to feature Samsung's new Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) OLED display, which makes use of adaptive frequency technology to reduce power consumption by up to 22%. But that's not the only new feature to make its way to users with Samsung's latest flagship. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is also the first Android smartphone to feature support for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, which will enable a host of new features like faster nearby device discovery, the ability to unlock smart doors, the ability to find the location of compatible devices near you, and more.

During the launch event, Samsung briefly highlighted the potential uses for the new UWB technology and the company later shared a video explaining the technology and its utility in greater detail. However, Samsung didn't reveal much about the hardware that enables the new feature on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Thankfully, Dutch semiconductor manufacturer NXP has now revealed some key details about the hardware solution that powers UWB on Samsung's latest flagship.

According to a recent press release shared by the company, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra makes use of NXP chips for UWB fine-ranging, NFC, and eSIM capabilities. Talking about NXP's combined UWB solution, Inkang Song, VP and Head of Technology Strategy Group of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics, said, "For the first time in a Galaxy device, Samsung is integrating NXP's UWB technology into our latest Galaxy Note20 Ultra to make sharing photos, videos and files easier. We are excited to introduce future UWB functionality in our Galaxy devices that will help locate items more accurately with AR technology and unlock your home as a digital key that will make life easier for consumers."

Along with the aforementioned use cases, NXP claims that its combined UWB chipsets can enable the following features:

  • Completely hands-free access control: The unparalleled precision sensing of NXP's Secure UWB technology includes outstanding localization that will make it possible for mobile devices to communicate with connected doors, points of entry, and cars for completely hands-free access control.
  • Simplified integration: Building on NXP's NFC connectivity, mobile ecosystems expertise and proven security architecture found in many of today's popular mobile payment-enabled devices, UWB can be part of a system that quickly and securely initializes communication. With NFC onboard, devices can continue to perform contactless transaction even when they run out of battery.
  • The next generation in connectivity: Unlike traditional SIM cards that must be removed and replaced in new devices, NXP's GSMA-compliant eSIM solution is integrated permanently into a device, making remote SIM provisioning radically easier and providing over-the-air SIM updates. The external SIM slot plus eSIM allow end users to have two or more phone numbers on a single device. The eSIM functionality comes with all Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra devices, excluding China, Japan, and Korea.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

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This article was updated at 5:35 PM EST to correct that NFC, eSIM, and UWB are not implemented by a single NXP chip. Furthermore, UWB is not used for actually transferring files. We regret these errors.