After pioneering the world’s first phone with a foldable screen, Samsung is branching out into less impressive but even more useful gadgets. One of them is SmartTag, a miniature tracking device that can be attached to any object and then used to monitor its location. However, before you think of attaching a SmartTag to your dog instead of using a subdermal chip, SmartTag has other interesting uses.
What’s a Samsung SmartTag?
To understand what SmartTag is and how it came to be, we have to go all the way back to 2012. On the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform, an exciting project popped up called SmartThings. It promised to seamlessly connect, automate, monitor, and control a variety of devices in a home. In no time, it reached nearly five times its funding goal, raising $1.2 million against an initial target of $250,000!
Seeing merit in the concept, Samsung bought the SmartThings home automation company in 2014 for $200 million. And here we are, with SmartTag as the latest offshoot from this smart device ecosystem. Moreover, SmartThings is both a name for Samsung’s home automation subdivision and a name for its universal SmartThings app, with which you control SmartTag through Samsung’s account on your Galaxy phone or tablet.
As for SmartTag itself, it is a battery-powered Bluetooth tracking device. The first of its kind was the Tile series—Tile Pro, Tile Mate, and Tile Slim. However, because SmartTag is a part of a wider automation ecosystem, it can be used for much more than tracking. If you have other smart devices, plugs, or hubs that are compatible with Samsung’s SmartThings, you can use SmartTag to switch on heaters, lights, speakers, TVs, and any other device hooked up to a smart plug.
How the Galaxy SmartTag works
Galaxy SmartTag uses the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard to connect to a phone that is nearby. Combined with an ultra wideband (UWB) wireless communication protocol for greater range, SmartTag serves as a homing beacon once you open your SmartThings app.
Furthermore, SmartTag can use Samsung’s SmartThings Find network to pinpoint its location by using other nearby Galaxy devices, even if SmartTag happens to be out of Bluetooth range. In short, it has multiple layers of network redundancy, providing very accurate and consistent tracking.
Here are some of the ways you can take advantage of it:
- If you can’t find your phone, you can press SmartTag twice, triggering your phone to ring.
- If you have lost a set of keys with SmartTag attached to the ring, you can locate them by having the SmartThings app trigger an alert sound, which will lead you to the keys.
- The most advanced way to find the SmartTag is via augmented reality. The app uses your smartphone’s camera to show you the way to its location, just like in a video game. However, only SmartTag Plus with its UWB chip can use this feature.
Likewise, the app can also use a map to track and pinpoint the tag.
SmartTag features
Galaxy SmartTag is slightly larger than the top of a key. It doesn’t have a button per se, but the entire centre surface serves as a depression area, rewarding you with an audible click when you press on it. The shape is a rounded square that is about 38 mm on each side.
At its thickest point, it is 8 mm deep. In addition to the BLE and UWB chips, it is equipped with a tiny speaker that produces a noise when you are trying to find it. Lastly, it has a convenient keyhole, making it suitable for integration into a key ring.
Finding tools
Outside of the connectivity and beeper tech, SmartTag has no “smartness” itself. Instead, the smart part of the tag comes from the SmartThings Find app. Alongside the three methods mentioned for finding lost items, the app can give you a clue of its last location.
Let’s say you left your tablet bag with the SmartTag inside. If you happen to go out of range, the SmartThings Find app will tell you the last location when it was connected to the app. The minimum direct BLE range is about 15 meters. Once you are outside of that range, the Galaxy Find Network comes into play by using any other Galaxy device in proximity to ping the location to the app.
Then, it’s just a matter of following the directions on a map.
Range and battery
Galaxy SmartTag uses a single, coin-shaped CR2032 battery that is user-replaceable. With the SmartTag, it should last about half a year. Although it is rated for 118 meters of range, in real-world conditions, you should expect the effective range to be within 15–30 meters. If you intend to use the augmented reality finding feature frequently, expect battery longevity to drop dramatically.
Privacy features
You will be pleased to know that all data flow between the SmartTag and SmartThings app is encrypted, which also applies to the Galaxy Find Network that uses other people’s phones to bounce the signal. Since its launch earlier this year, no incidents of privacy exploitation have been reported.
How much do SmartTags cost?
Currently, you have two options to choose from: the regular SmartTag and SmartTag Plus. The former costs around $40 and is available in either black or white. SmartTag Plus, which is also available also in denim blue, costs around $50.
The difference between the two is that SmartTag is compatible with every Samsung smartphone that has Android OS above 8.0. On the other hand, SmartTag Plus is only compatible with those flagship Galaxy smartphones holding UWB chips. These are quite pricey and include the Galaxy S20 Ultra, S21 Ultra, the Note 20 Ultra, and other models in that generation.
The UWB chip is also a novel addition to the Apple iPhone 11 series. It seems UWB, as a short-range radio technology, is becoming the new standard for miniaturized and precise (i.e., within inches) pinpointing of distances between UWB-compatible devices. You may have heard of UWB before, as it ties into the so-called fourth industrial revolution, with the Internet of Things (IoT) representing its smart connectivity.
Do Galaxy SmartTags work with the iPhone?
No. Apple’s equivalent to SmartTag is AirTag.
It is true that the SmartThings app works cross-platform for compatible devices. However, only Galaxy phones and tablets can link up to SmartTag.
Conclusion and Recommendation
If you are within the Samsung ecosystem—smart TVs, AC units, and other Samsung devices—it is easy to recommend SmartTag as a tiny tracker that could one day save you a small fortune. It works exactly as advertised, on top of serving as a tiny remote for home automation.
Nonetheless, if you are not surrounded by Samsung devices, keep in mind that Tile trackers are compatible with most Bluetooth devices, not just Galaxy phones and tablets. It is not clear why Samsung opted for this approach, considering that its SmartThings network already supports both Apple and Android devices. For the time being, Samsung has no plans to expand this walled garden, so it might be prudent to choose a more universal Tile tracker instead.
