Beyond the AirTag: how to locate lost objects with the mobile?
The arrival of Apple's AirTags has focused on a possibility that had been on the market for some time: the use of small devices to locate, thanks to the mobile, any object that we have lost. These types of locators are a little larger than a coin in size and are attached to the object that you want to control. Usually they are key rings, although they are also very useful in backpacks, bags or any other object whose loss is seriously upsetting.
These devices have a small battery connected to the mobile via Bluetooth, and thanks to an application they locate the object to be monitored on a map. As long as you are within the range of the mobile wireless connection, they will be located. But it should be remembered that these trackers, such as AirTags, lack GPS or a mobile connection, so as soon as they lose the link with the phone, they disappear from the map. When this happens, the app will remember your last position. In the case of the AirTag, the range, in order to enter a coverage area of an iPhone, iPad or Mac, is up to 100 meters, using the 2.4 Ghz signal that the regulations allow and can emit information to a speed of 1Mbps, more than enough for the data you need to broadcast or upload to the network.
The data indicates that we spend a lot of time looking for things. A complete study carried out by IKEA in Spain yielded significant data: 48% of Spaniards acknowledged having lost an object every week, and on average, they invested between 1 and 10 minutes to locate it. If we raise this figure over time, we will discover that throughout our lives we spend more than six months looking for lost objects. All a waste that could be avoided by being more orderly, or alternatively using technology.
What do we Spaniards lose most often? At the head of the ranking are the glasses, followed by the pen, and in third position both the mobile phone and the keys, in a very diverse group of objects. The type of lost objects is linked to the habits of each country: if in Spain glasses are usually lost, in the United States the drama of the loss is attributed to the TV remote, while in the United Kingdom what disappears are always the keys, according to another study carried out by Chipolo, a company that manufactures precisely one of these devices.
Technology to the rescue: this is how a locator works
Fortunately, in the field of lost and found, the maxim “there's an app for that” also applies. Thanks to the mobile and a small device that is attached to or inserted into the object to be monitored, your search will be much easier. The corresponding application, through the mechanism described above, will offer us the approximate location of the lost object and we can make the tracker beep or emit a buzz to facilitate its search if it is under a sofa or at the bottom of a drawer.
The emergence of smart speakers allows, in some devices and markets, that the search process is also performed by voice through “Alexa, find my keys”. What kind of objects can we have controlled by a locator? Actually, the limitation is set by the object itself and how easy it is to attach the device to it. Thus, the locators can be easily attached to key rings, inserted into bags or backpacks, and some brands even have flat versions to be placed in wallets. Next we will review the main market locators.
Apple's absolute precision
The Californian manufacturer was the last to reach this market, but its AirTag —the trade name of its locator that costs around 32 euros— already have a delivery period of more than a month and that is because they have become the most demanded products of the firm. It's well known that everything Apple touches turns to gold, but do AirTags have any additional ingredients beyond their logo? The answer is yes.
The peculiarity of these devices is that they have a precision search based on ultra-broadband, which, thanks to the U1 chip, allows guidance to the lost object with exact precision. That is, the iPhone will indicate the exact path to the location of the lost AirTag and not the approximate location offered by other devices. This device has another powerful asset that sets it apart from its rivals: the ability to locate the device thanks to the presence of any iPhone nearby, even if it is not its owner's.
A British man put this collective geopositioning to the test by sending a letter with an AirTag inside and tracing, thanks to mobile phones near different points of the journey, the route of the letter with surprising precision. As can be deduced, the localization potential will depend on the iPhone installed base in the market. Will it work just as well in Spain? "In the United States there is a much larger installed base [of iPhones]," explains Pedro Aznar, director of the Applesfera blog. This expert ensures its proper functioning also in Spain —a market with a much lower iPhone installed base—: “Spain has fewer iPhone users, but the population concentration is higher, so unless you go to the end of a mount, it will be difficult for an iPhone not to pass by at some point ”. Aznar recalls that "a few seconds" of contact within the coverage radius of the AirTags are enough for the beacon to activate.
Tile, locators adapted to various objects
AirTags have brought back a type of product that already had its market and in which one of its main protagonists is Tile (46 euros in its pro version). This American firm has adapted its catalog over the years and has a varied offer for each type of need. Thus, there is a specific model in the shape of a credit card to put it in the wallet, another adhesive to be used, for example, in remote controls, and a Pro model with high performance. Unlike Apple's locator, Tiles work with any mobile, whether Android or iPhone, (it can even be managed from Windows) and its most advanced model has a high connection range with the mobile: 122 meters.
As with the rest of the pagers, the battery can be replaced —which lasts approximately one year—, it is waterproof and can be activated by voice by Alexa, Siri or Google. Those who also want a bit of design in the product to wear it with a certain style, this brand offers limited editions with colorful aesthetics that make the product come to life while it is worn in a visible area. The Slim model, to add it to the wallet, offers a battery of up to three years, although yes, the rivals of the AirTag lack that beacon function that facilitates the location of the object using any mobile as a reference.
Chipolo, the solution that emerged from a conversation between friends
Chipolo's story is very similar to Tile's. The project arose as a result of a simple conversation between friends who posed the following question: how was it possible that nothing had been invented to find lost objects? We are in 2013 and that reflection led to a Kickstarter campaign that consolidated the product. Like Tile, Chipolo is today a multinational company that sells all over the world and has now also been a victim of Apple's “friendly fire”.
The similarities between Tile and Chipolo One (24.9 euros) also reach the product level, the latter being rounded. Its top-of-the-range model, the Chipolo One Ocean, is made of recycled plastic from the ocean and, like the rest of the models in the range, it has an interesting function: it alerts the user of signal loss with the locators. This can be interesting to use the locator, for example, with pets, but for this type of use there is a specific product: Tractive.
Tractive, when what we want to locate is the pet
As soon as Apple introduced AirTags to the market, there were several forums in which buyers planned to use the device to monitor their pets, a use that Apple ruled out outright. Why can't a Bluetooth tracker be used to keep an eye on our dog or cat? Physically there is nothing to prevent it and certain models are even waterproof. The limitation, in reality, is found in its benefits: the range of these devices is limited by Bluetooth, so if the pet escapes from home a few hundred meters, it will not be able to be located.
For this type of need, there are certain products such as Tractive (49 euros), a device that has two necessary elements to keep an eye on our pet: GPS and mobile connection. The operation of Tractive is very similar to the rest of the locators listed in this selection: they place the pet at a point on the map, but with the big difference that the presence of the mobile phone is not necessary in the range of reach. That is, the owner of the dog can be in another country and from his position, see where his pet is in real time. Naturally, Tractive requires a mobile connection, so a subscription is necessary (starting at 9.99 euros per month).
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag
The Samsung Galaxy SmartTag (about 40 euros), presented by the South Korean company in January and tested by EL PAÍS in February, is designed to be used as a keyring and thus being able to locate non-connected objects: from a backpack or some keys to the car or even a dog. It would be enough to place the device on the pet's collar to know where it is. The main limitation of this device is that it is only compatible with Samsung smartphones.
The device works with bluetooth and allows you to locate objects about 120 meters away, although it will depend on the obstacles along the way, according to Samsung. The user can check the location of the device on a map in the SmartThings app. Although the results provided by the application are quite accurate, in the tests carried out by this newspaper it was sometimes indicated that the Galaxy SmartTag was in the building next door.
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