Samsung’s new Exynos chipset enables short-range wireless connectivity

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday unveiled a new chipset under its Exynos line that enables much shorter-range wireless connectivity than rival models.

The world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker said the Exynos Connect U100, its first ultra-wideband (UWB) chipset, offers highly precise distance measurement, down to single-digit centimeters, and location information.

With such accuracy, the new chip is suitable for use in mobile, automotive and Internet of Things devices, it said.

The new chip comes as the company is launching a new brand, Exynos Connect, which covers products that power short-range wireless communication services such as UWB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, essential to facilitating an increasingly hyper-connected world.

“Our Exynos Connect U100 combines sophisticated ranging and positioning capabilities with strong security to enable hyper-connectivity between people and everyday objects, fueling a range of new applications in positioning and location tracking,” said Kim Joon-suk, executive vice president of Samsung’s connectivity development team.

UWB is a short-range wireless communication technology that operates over a broad frequency spectrum, allowing for fast data transfers at low power.

With its ability to capture highly accurate spatial and directional data, the popularity of UWB chipsets is growing across various industries, including ones dealing with remote payments, smart keys, smart homes and smart factories.

According to market research firm TSR, shipments of UWB devices are expected to rise to 1.8 billion by 2030 from 300 million in 2022. Smartphones equipped with UWB technology are forecast to account for 58% of all smartphones by 2030.

USEFUL IN INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS WHERE GPS IS UNAVAILABLE

The precise measurement functionality, Samsung said, is especially useful when tracking location in challenging indoor environments where GPS is unavailable as well as for augmented reality and virtual reality applications that require exact and real-time tracking of moving people.

“Building on our technology leadership in communications technologies, we are committed to driving innovation in short-range communication solutions to transform the way we connect and relate to the world around us,” he said.

The U100 integrates radio frequency, embedded flash memory and power management IP into a single chip, making it ideal for compact devices, according to Samsung.

The Exynos Connect U100 has been certified by the FiRa Consortium, a non-profit organization that certifies UWB products for conformity to interoperability standards, it said.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.