Apple’s newly second generation iPhone SE does not come equipped with the company’s custom U1 Ultra Wideband chip that debuted with iPhone 11 last year.
Mike Peterson for AppleInsider:
The U1 chip, which first appeared in the iPhone 11 lineup, offers additional spatial awareness and ultra-precise location tracking capabilities to devices that have it. Because of those features, it’s thought to be closely related to upcoming products like AirTags.
It isn’t clear at this point how [the lack of an U1 chip] will impact compatibility with Apple’s rumored Bluetooth tracking tags, but it’s possible that AirTags could default to Bluetooth for older devices without UWB.
The 2020 iPad Pro also lacks a U1 chip…
MacDailyNews Take: This is a “budget” iPhone — it has Home button, for crying out loud — so it’s not going to have every new bell and whistle, into which category the Apple U1 ultra wideband chip falls. iPhone SE buyers, who will number in the tens of millions, don’t expect it to have everything, just the important things (which it has in spades).
The new iPhone SE is powered by the Apple-designed A13 Bionic, the fastest chip in a smartphone, to handle the most demanding tasks. iPhone SE also features the best single-camera system ever in an iPhone, which unlocks the benefits of computational photography including Portrait mode, and is designed to withstand the elements with dust and water resistance.
It’s the SE version = budget
iPad Pro = top of the line
If the most recent iPad Pro didn’t carry the U1 chip, why would you expect a budget phone to carry it? Nothing to see here people, move along.