Tile, on the other hand has a brand agnostic approach and can be used by iPhone or Android devices. This means Apple's network is potentially larger, the billion iOS devices that Apple likes to talk about.
Both of these networks are potentially huge as they are market leaders in smartphone sales - but there's a catch for Samsung.Īpple requires you to use an Apple ID for your iPhone (meaning there's potential for all iPhones to find an AirTag), but Samsung doesn't require the use of a Samsung Account on a Galaxy device.įor Galaxy SmartTag to work, you have to be signed into a Samsung Account, so there is the potential that not all Samsung phones will detect Galaxy SmartTag, because some people will choose not to use the Samsung account. Samsung Galaxy SmartTag works with SmartThings Find, which is only on Samsung Galaxy devices.īoth these trackers work within a walled garden: only Apple devices will locate the AirTag, only Samsung Galaxy devices will locate the SmartTag. Let's start with the obvious points: Apple AirTag works with Find My, which is only on Apple devices. Suddenly the Bluetooth tracker market is a congested space, so here's how these three platforms compare. Samsung's Galaxy SmartTag and SmartTag+ was announced in early 2021, but is actually a second-gen device from Samsung, who originally launched the SmartThings Tracker, an LTE device, in 2018. (Pocket-lint) - In 2021 Apple joined the Bluetooth tracking fray, moving into the market that was very much established by Tile a number of years earlier.