We have been waiting patiently for almost two years for Apple to abandon its device tracking device, but Samsung may win the race as a late entrant.
A plethora of leaks over the past few months suggest that Samsung will introduce something called the Galaxy SmartTag in the near future. Recently and perhaps most convincingly, 91mobiles has released some leaked images of the product that make it look a lot like a Tile Pro, a popular tracking device that keeps you on valuable items if they get lost. Position one of the items incorrectly and all you have to do is open a mobile app to see where it went.
Rumors about SmartTag have been circulating since at least November, and SamMobile reported on its existence at that time. It seems to be powered by Bluetooth, which is interesting because Samsung’s last attempt at such a product, 2018’s SmartThings Tracker, used LTE to track down lost items.
One can safely assume that the SmartTag will play nicely with SmartThings Find, an app that Samsung released last year with the specific purpose of finding misplaced Galaxy devices.
Do not be surprised if Samsung unveils SmartTag this month, as we expect some key products from the company to appear on January 14th. The right buyer manufacturer is likely to be the Galaxy S21 series smartphones, so it would make sense to launch SmartTags. along those.
If all that happens, Samsung will gain a small advantage in its competition with Apple. We’ve been hearing rumors since 2019 of a similar Apple brand apparently called ‘AirTags’, but for whatever reason, Apple has not yet officially announced it. If Samsung can get SmartTag at the door, it should give Apple extra incentive to ensure that AirTags are not the way AirPower goes.