Location systems are not something new, in fact, they have been on the market for many years, although with a different operation since they are associated with a SIM card, being widely used by companies for the control of vehicle fleets.
However, with the launch of the AirTags, a location beacon that allows us to find any object both at home and if we have lost it away from home, it seems that Apple has reinvented the wheel, when it really is not so. In fact, AirTags they are the last to hit the market.
Months before the official presentation of the AirTags, Samsung introduced the Galaxy SmartTags. Long before that, the Tile company launched location beacons that really were the revolution of this type of device. But they are not the only ones. If you want to know the best alternatives to Apple AirTags that work on Android, I invite you to continue reading.
Tile
If we talk about Tile, we have to talk about the first company to launch location beacons. These location beacons use their own network users to locate objects that have disappeared from our sight, we have lost, they have stolen from us ...
Through the Android application, we can make the device ring if it is near or find it on a map if it's far away, all of them for free and without having to pay for a subscription.
Tile puts at our disposal 4 different models, models that we detail below:
Tile Stickers
Tile Stikcer features on a reverse with a adhesive that allows us to fix the beacon to any device and use the app to find the device when sight disappears. It is ideal to find the remote control for the TV when you go on a trip through the sofa cushions, the camera, the house keys, the tablet ...
Has a 36mm reach the battery lasts for 2 years, is waterproof, is only available in black, is priced at 39,99 euros in a pack of 2 units or 64,99 euros in a pack of 4 units. It is 27 mm x 7,3 mm in size and has a small speaker that will emit a sound that will help us find the lost objects.
Tile Pro
Tile Pro incorporates a hitch to easily carry it with keys, backpacks and other objects that we do not want to lose track of. This is the model that has a greater bluetooth range with up to 122 meters.
It incorporates a speaker that emits a higher dB than the other models offered by Tiles, the replaceable battery lasts for 1 year, is waterproof (not waterproof) and has a size of 42x42x6,5mm. This model is available in color black, white, pink, deep blue and red.
The price of 1 Tile Pro is 34,99 euros, the pack of 2 Tile Pro is 59,99 euros while the pack of 4 goes up to 99,99 euros.
Tile Slim
The Tile Slim is designed to use it in narrow places, like inside a purse, on a hatch, on the luggage tag. It is available in color black, pink, deep blue and red, has a range of 61 meters.
It incorporates a speaker through which the sound is emitted that will allow us to find the object to which it is associated (usually a wallet or bag), the non-replaceable battery lasts for 3 years, it is waterproof and has a size of 86x54x2,4 mm.
It costs $29,99 for a unit while the pack of 2 units is 59,98 euros.
Tile Mate
The Tile Mate offers us a design very similar to the Tile Pro with a hole to hook onto the objects that we always want to have controlled, but with half the bluetooth range: 61 meters.
It incorporates a speaker through which it emits the sound that will allow us to find the object to which it is associated, the battery is replaceable and it lasts for 1 year, is waterproof and has a size of 35x35x6,2 mm.
The Tile Mate is priced at $24,99. The two-unit pack is 47,99 euros and the 4-unit pack goes up to 69,99 euros. It is only available in white.
All the prices indicated for the Tile beacons correspond to the company's website. If we want save us a few euros, the best we can do is buy them directly on Amazon through this link.
Samsung Galaxy SmartTags
The Galaxy SmartTag is the most versatile alternative to the AirTag since in addition to functioning as an object tracker, incorporate a button With which we can activate other compatible smart home devices to perform actions such as opening the garage door, turning off all the lights in the house, activating or deactivating the alarm ...
As for the design, this is very similar to the rest of location beacons that we can find in the market, with a hole in the upper part to hold it. Regarding the size, it is also very similar to the rest of the solutions on the market (39x10x19 mm). The Galaxy SmartTags is available in two versions:
- Smart Tag standard uses Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (LE)
- SmartTag + Take advantage of ultra-wide band (UWD) to track objects.
In terms of operation, both work in a similar way. The maximum range of Samsung locator beacons is 120 meters, like the Tile Pro, 20 meters more than Apple AirTags.
To find the object to which it is associated, we have to make use of Galaxy Find, a network that use all Samsung smartphones to locate the location of the beacon that we have lost without users who pass near it, receive any notification (same operation as Apple's AirTag).
The only one but that we find in the Galaxy SmartTag, is the same as the AirTags: they are only compatible within its ecosystem. That is if you don't have a Samsung smartphone, you can not go thinking of another alternative.
The price of the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag is about $29,99, although on Amazon we can find them with interesting discounts if we buy a o more units. It is available in white and beige.
Chipolo ONE
If at the moment, the only thing you don't like about these location beacons is the availability of colors, you should consider the option that Chipolo puts at our disposal with the Chipolo ONE. The Chipolo ONE has a round design with one hole that allows us to hang it on keys, bags, backpacks ...
Another important point of these beacons is the ability to emit a sound of 120 db that will be very useful while you find lost or misplaced objects. Incorporates a battery replaceable It lasts for two years and is splash resistant (IPX5) but not submersible.
Es compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, so we can control your location using voice commands. In addition, it allows us to configure the alerts on the mobile so that we do not leave the object to which it is associated, an ideal function for the most clueless that is also available in the rest of the beacons that we talk about in this article.
Chipolo location beacons are available on Amazon for 24,90 €s in yellow, white, blue, black, red and green and measures 38x38x7 mm.
CubePro
Like the Samsung SmartTags, the Cube Pro incorporates a button on the device, a button that only allows us to use as a camera remote control of our smartphone. It has a speaker that emits a sound of 101 dB, so it will not be difficult to find the objects that we lose and want to recover.
The replaceable battery lasts for one year, it is waterproof IP67. When we move away from the device to which we have associated this beacon, the application will emit an alarm to remind us that we have entered the mode clueless.
The negative point of these locator beacons is that It has a range via bluetooth of only 60 meters, when most of the options in this list, exceed that distance. The Cubre Pro beacons are priced at $ 29,99 and are not currently available in Spain.
Edge Tag
Filo Tag beacons depart from the usual rounded design, offering us a rectangular design with dimensions of 21x41x5 cm, have a range of 80 meters and the battery, replaceable, offers us an autonomy of 12 months.
At the top, it incorporates a kind of ribbon that allows us to place the beacon on the keychain, backpack, bag… And alerts us when we move away from the device.
It incorporates a button that when pressed twice, starts the playback on our mobile device, even if the device is silent, so it is a beacon ideal for those who habitually do not remember or easily lose both the keys and the phone.
The Filo Tag locator beacon is available in red, black, blue and white and its price per unit is $29,90. Unlike all the products mentioned in this article, the Filo Tags have been created and manufactured in Italy.
To take advantage of all the functions that Filo Tag offers us no need to pay for any type of subscription and the application, we can download it for free through the following link.
