Last October we mentioned UWB (Ultra-wide band) in reference to its potential use in the iPhone 12 (it became available in the iPhone 11) and as a way to precisely pinpoint the location of devices that are ‘tagged’ with a UWB device. Apple (AAPL) has been rumored to be releasing ‘Air Tags’, a UWB device that would allow tagged items to be located down to between 5 and 10 centimeters (2” to 4”), while Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can get you within a ‘few meters.” It seems that while Apple has included the chip necessary for such a product in the iPhone and the Apple Watch, a company called Tile (pvt) came out with such a device but uses Bluetooth which limits its accuracy, however Samsung released ‘SmartTags’ last week that would be the direct competitor to the Apple product, when it is released.
For $29.95 Samsung will sell you a tag ~1.5” device (.4” thick) that can be placed on any object that is easily lost. Bluetooth is used to find items close by, but if the item is out of your Bluetooth range (like being in the grocery store parking lot) any (?) Samsung Galaxy device will ‘see’ the lost item and inform the ‘Galaxy Find Network’ which will tell you where the device is located. Once you are close by, you can precisely find the device with UWB on your own device, even when the other Galaxy devices are offline, all done anonymously, without any user intervention. Samsung’s SmartTags also can be used for home automation, but precision tracking is the primary application.
There is a hitch however, in that the currently released version, is Bluetooth only, which all Samsung Galaxy phones support, but the UWB version, SmartTags+ has not been given a release date, although it will be priced at ~$40, and would be compatible with only the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, the Galaxy S21+ and the Galaxy S21 Ultra, all of which are equipped with UWB. The Bluetooth version is similar to a number of ‘tagging’ devices that are available currently, but the UWB device, when it comes out, will allow the user to overlay an image of the tagged device on the phones camera, which would show you that the tagged item is under couch pillows or in a pile of leaves. While these devices are relatively expensive, the amount of time, stress, and possible expense they save is immeasurable, and they will get less expensive over time.
For $29.95 Samsung will sell you a tag ~1.5” device (.4” thick) that can be placed on any object that is easily lost. Bluetooth is used to find items close by, but if the item is out of your Bluetooth range (like being in the grocery store parking lot) any (?) Samsung Galaxy device will ‘see’ the lost item and inform the ‘Galaxy Find Network’ which will tell you where the device is located. Once you are close by, you can precisely find the device with UWB on your own device, even when the other Galaxy devices are offline, all done anonymously, without any user intervention. Samsung’s SmartTags also can be used for home automation, but precision tracking is the primary application.
There is a hitch however, in that the currently released version, is Bluetooth only, which all Samsung Galaxy phones support, but the UWB version, SmartTags+ has not been given a release date, although it will be priced at ~$40, and would be compatible with only the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, the Galaxy S21+ and the Galaxy S21 Ultra, all of which are equipped with UWB. The Bluetooth version is similar to a number of ‘tagging’ devices that are available currently, but the UWB device, when it comes out, will allow the user to overlay an image of the tagged device on the phones camera, which would show you that the tagged item is under couch pillows or in a pile of leaves. While these devices are relatively expensive, the amount of time, stress, and possible expense they save is immeasurable, and they will get less expensive over time.
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