Following a number of announcements made at CES 2021, Samsung has announced a new Bluetooth location called “Galaxy SmartTag” at the “Unpacked” event on January 14th. Announced the device. This is a lost beacon for Samsung owners and is a competitor to Tile. Like the upcoming AitTags from Tile and Apple, the Galaxy SmartTag can be attached to keys, bags, pet collars, or anything else you want to find where you are. The first SmartTag to be released will use Bluetooth to communicate with nearby Samsung devices, but in the second half of 2021, a version called SmartTag + using ultra-wideband wireless communication (UWB) will also be released. The company acknowledged.

SmartTag + will be more competitive with AirTags, which is expected to take advantage of the UWB found in Apple’s iPhone 11 series and later models. In anticipation of this news, Tile has already developed a new tracker (location detection device) that uses UWB, which is expected to be released in the latter half of 2021.

The Galaxy Smart Tag announced on the 14th is a product that uses Bluetooth, and there is only one type of specification. In other words, there is no lineup of specifications with different sizes and performance. However, you can choose from two body colors, black and a color close to white called “oatmeal”.

According to a Samsung representative, the Galaxy SmartTag can be used with any of the company’s Galaxy devices running Android 10 or later.

Galaxy device owners can use Samsung’s SmartThings Find app to find missing items with SmartTags attached.

Galaxy SmartTag works just like Tile and other BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) trackers. When the SmartTag is offline, that is, when it is not connected to a device such as the Galaxy S21, it sends a BLE signal that can be detected by a nearby Galaxy device. When the Galaxy device detects it, SmartTag sends location information to the SmartThings Find app, which allows the app to know the location of the attached item. According to Samsung, SmartThings Find user data is encrypted and secure, so even if you use the app to search for the SmartTag of a lost item, your location and personal information will be safe.

The app also provides various tools for finding items, such as “find nearby,” “search,” and “sound,” as well as “notify when found.” Like Tile, SmartTag can also be used to find smartphones that you don’t know where you put them. In this case, if you press the SmartTag button twice, you will hear a sound from your smartphone, and you will be able to find your smartphone by following the location.

The Galaxy SmartTag can also be customized to do other things with the push of a button. For example, when you get home, you can easily turn on the lights and TV by pressing the button on the Smart Tag attached to your belongings.

According to the materials distributed prior to the announcement, the Galaxy SmartTag was slightly thicker than the Tile tracker, powered by a CR2032 cell battery, and connected via Bluetooth (actually a user-replaceable CR2032 battery was used. We have confirmed that).

Samsung personnel did not provide us with official detailed technical specifications prior to the announcement. I’d like to update the article later when the details are revealed. If you don’t know the details such as the coverage range, it is difficult to make a proper comparison with the trackers of other companies on the market (leak) if you do not know the details such as the coverage range (the official website says that the communication range is within 120 m). The information provided does not necessarily indicate the final product and cannot be determined on its own, although the documentation filed with the regulatory authority may be the first reference).

Samsung is trying to promote the spread of this new tracker through a campaign before it goes on sale. Book your Galaxy S21 Ultra between January 14th and 28th in the U.S. and get a free Galaxy Smart Tag in addition to the $ 200 Samsung Credit. .. This will help Samsung recover any of the investments it has made in lost-and-found gadgets. The company launched the LTE-based “Smart Things Tracker” in 2018, but it wasn’t very popular.

Other than this campaign, the Galaxy Smart Tag will be available in the US from January 29th at a price of $ 29.99 each.

The price is a little higher than the entry-level Bluetooth tracker “Tile Mate” sold by Tile for $ 24.99 (about 2600 yen).

More from Author Rachel Maga here: https://globelivemedia.com/author/rachel-maga/

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