Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is quietly becoming one of the most strategic short-range wireless technologies in the market, moving from niche deployments into the mainstream of smartphones, cars, and smart spaces.
As the ecosystem matures and next-generation implementations arrive, UWB is shifting from nice-to-have to a foundational capability for secure access, sensing, and high-performance device-to-device connectivity.
UWB Technology Market Development
Unlike Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, or legacy IEEE 802.15.4 implementations, UWB combines three powerful attributes in a single radio: secure ranging, radar-like sensing, and low-latency, high-throughput short-range data.
This allows networking and IT vendors to architect experiences that blend precise location, context awareness, and rich interaction in ways traditional connectivity stacks cannot easily match.
According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, UWB is expected to be one of the fastest-growing wireless connectivity technologies, forecasting device shipments to grow at a 21 percent compound annual growth rate between 2025 and 2030.
As next-generation UWB silicon aligned with IEEE 802.15.4ab comes to market, it will further enhance performance and expand the feasible use-case envelope in consumer, automotive, industrial, and smart city environments.
Key UWB Market Stats That Stand Out
- More than 436 million UWB-enabled devices shipped in 2024, signaling that the technology has already crossed a meaningful volume threshold.
- UWB smartphone penetration is set to climb rapidly: 27 percent of smartphones shipped with UWB in 2025, rising to over 52 percent by 2030.
- UWB device shipments overall are forecast to reach 1.4 billion units by 2030 as the ecosystem matures and applications diversify.
Behind these numbers is a rapidly expanding chipset and IP ecosystem, with ABI Research noting portfolio expansion, new market entrants, and several UWB-related acquisitions.
Vendors are also moving toward combo and multi-protocol UWB solutions that can be tailored to industry verticals and optimized for specific mixes of ranging, sensing, and data communications.
Evolving UWB Use Cases and Ecosystem
UWB’s first commercial wave has centered on secure ranging, particularly automotive digital keys and personal trackers.
That success is now extending into residential and commercial building access control, from UWB-enabled smart door locks to enterprise access readers that can support more seamless and secure entry experiences.
The next growth chapter will come from combining secure ranging with radar and sensing, alongside low-latency communications:
- Contactless payments and transportation ticketing: UWB’s precision and security profile make it a strong candidate for more intuitive “walk-through” payment and transit experiences.
- Automotive safety and convenience: Solutions already combine secure vehicle access with in-cabin child presence detection, pointing to multi-function UWB architectures in the car.
- Immersive and peripheral connectivity: Wireless audio, low-latency links for peripherals and gaming devices, XR systems, robotics, wearables, and IoT devices are gaining traction as UWB targets use cases.
To sustain this trajectory, the ecosystem must solve for standardization, interoperability, and spectrum. ABI Research highlights the roles of multiple standards bodies and consortia.
Together, they are aligning specifications and ensuring performance, latency, and security requirements are met across UWB use cases.
Outlook for UWB Applications Growth
From a business technology perspective, the most significant opportunities emerge where UWB can be embedded as an enabling layer in broader solutions rather than sold as a standalone feature.
For example, UWB-enhanced access control can be bundled into workplace experience platforms, vehicle-as-a-service models, or integrated smart building offerings that monetize security, efficiency, and user experience improvements. Several growth vectors stand out:
- Verticalized solutions: Tailored UWB stacks for automotive, industrial automation, logistics, and smart cities will allow vendors to differentiate beyond generic connectivity.
- Cross-ecosystem collaboration: As vendors and specialized silicon players participate, collaboration among consortia will be essential to avoid fragmentation and to create repeatable, interoperable patterns.
- Regulatory and spectrum alignment: Continued effort to secure a regulatory environment for UWB spectrum will directly impact safety-critical and public infrastructure scenarios.
Looking ahead to 2030, UWB is well-positioned to become a default ingredient in premium devices and gradually trickle down into mass-market tiers as volumes grow and costs decline.
"The UWB chipset and IP ecosystem have grown rapidly in recent years with the expansion of product portfolios, new entrants to the market, and several UWB-related acquisitions," said Andrew Zignani, senior research director at ABI Research.
That being said, I believe this latest growth forecast suggests that UWB will increasingly underpin differentiated user experiences across consumer, enterprise, and industrial domains rather than remaining a niche radio technology.