Samsung releases $29.99 SmartTag to compete with Tile, 'AirTags'
Alongside the new Galaxy S21 lineup and Galaxy Buds, Samsung also has debuted a Bluetooth tracking tag and Tile competitor dubbed the Galaxy SmartTag.
Credit: Samsung
The Galaxy SmartTag is a $29.99 tracking device that relies on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to help users find missing or misplaced items. It'll pair with Samsung's SmartThings app, and will show the last known location of an item along with its current proximity via BLE signal strength.
Unlike Tile trackers currently available on the market, the SmartTag will only work with Samsung Galaxy devices. It won't be compatible with other Androids, or an iPhone for that matter.
Despite some of Samsung's newest devices sporting the technology, the $29.99 SmartTag does not support Ultra Wideband (UWB) tracking.
UWB is a new technology that allows for pinpoint location tracking and is largely expected to be one of the primary features of Apple's long-rumored "AirTags." Along with Apple, Tile is also expected to debut a UWB-equipped tracker in 2021.
Samsung did state that a UWB version of the SmartTag, dubbed the SmartTag+, will debut later in 2021. Although an exact release timeline isn't clear, the SmartTag+ device will cost $39.99.
The Samsung device, as well as the expected "AirTags" from Apple, are likely to put increasing pressure on Tile. In fact, Tile has already accused Apple of anti-competitive behavior in the space.
Credit: Samsung
The Galaxy SmartTag is a $29.99 tracking device that relies on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to help users find missing or misplaced items. It'll pair with Samsung's SmartThings app, and will show the last known location of an item along with its current proximity via BLE signal strength.
Unlike Tile trackers currently available on the market, the SmartTag will only work with Samsung Galaxy devices. It won't be compatible with other Androids, or an iPhone for that matter.
Despite some of Samsung's newest devices sporting the technology, the $29.99 SmartTag does not support Ultra Wideband (UWB) tracking.
UWB is a new technology that allows for pinpoint location tracking and is largely expected to be one of the primary features of Apple's long-rumored "AirTags." Along with Apple, Tile is also expected to debut a UWB-equipped tracker in 2021.
Samsung did state that a UWB version of the SmartTag, dubbed the SmartTag+, will debut later in 2021. Although an exact release timeline isn't clear, the SmartTag+ device will cost $39.99.
The Samsung device, as well as the expected "AirTags" from Apple, are likely to put increasing pressure on Tile. In fact, Tile has already accused Apple of anti-competitive behavior in the space.
Comments
IMO these are clunky but I'm sure someone will find a use for them.
Galaxy Watch
Galaxy Fold
Samsung again trying to beat Apple to market.
iKnockoff morons will claim Apple “copied” this failure by quoting a release date.
EVERY. DAMN. TIME.
What a stupid reply. Samsung has a display manufacture, Apple does not. Samsung Display isn’t even part of samsung Mobile(the iKnockoff segment).
This is straight out of the iKnockoff moron playbook.
Who 'beats' who only really comes into focus when people try to make claims like yours which make it sound as if everyone is copying Apple.
Pinch yourself. Companies have been bringing these things to market (often long before Apple) for years. Key technologies.
And 'Edge' phones? When did Apple have an Edge phone?
Every time you say 'iKnockoff Morons' you are simply digging a bigger hole for yourself.
Apple does some great stuff. And so do lots of other companies.
This may not be the pinnacle of where the technology is heading but it isn't going away and will only get better.
And centimetre precision tag systems using UWB have been around for a while now in all kinds of industrial, scientific, health settings.
Yes. This is an evil technology. I love the idea and hate at the same time that it became reality.
How it works?
This technology is a dream for all agencies around the world: people spying on others without knowing it.
Once the UWB version with longer lasting batteries became available, it would become a nightmare.
And now imagine RFID-based trackers in the probably not too distance future: a horror scenario (which will become reality).
So you believe Samsung is just listening to rumours and start developing products just because there was a rumour? This argument is so stupid that tells a lot about people which repeat it again and again!
Have you ever thought that such rumours start spreading once an Apple or Apple fans learn that a real project is being developed by another company and not vice versa? This is an old marketing trick, perfected by Audi in the car industry. Each time you hear about a rumoured feature to be developed by Audi, you know either BMW or Mercedes are going to release it soon!
And Apple have been Audi’s equivalence in the computer industry for year.
BTW: this Samsung LTE tracker was released 2018 already which does not mean Samsung would have invented it.https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/9/10/17841570/samsung-smartthings-tracker-gps-lte-m