Amazon has
4-Pack SAMSUNG Galaxy SmartTag2 Bluetooth Tracker (Black + White) on sale for
$79.99.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to Community Member
tagtruong for sharing this deal.
About this Item:
- Its design makes it easy for you to tag and carry your belongings
- Lose something? Switch on Search Nearby and get guided instructions to your item's location via Compass View
- IP67-rated water and dust-resistant
- Stays powered for up to 500 days
- Only available with ultra-wideband (UWB) enabled Galaxy smartphones running Android 11.0 or higher (Galaxy Note20 Ultra, S21+ and Ultra, S22+ and Ultra, S23+ and Ultra, Z Fold2 and up
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Top Comments
Airtag is best if you are in apple eco system
Galaxy tag 2 is best if you are in Samsung eco system
92 Comments
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At the moment, the best trackers of this type that you can buy are Apple Airtags if you own an iPhone and Samsung SmartTags if you own a Samsung phone.
If you own any other type of Android phone, Tile is the closest other viable option, but it's not ideal at the moment and you'd probably be better off waiting a bit for new devices.
The reason these are proprietary is because they require a network of phones that AUTOMATICALLY search for them without the need to download an app. (edit: was pointed out that you do have to opt in to the Samsung find network for it to function on Samsung devices) Both Samsung and Apple build this into all of their phones - so if you own an Apple phone or a Samsung phone then regardless of whether you own a smart tag or not, you're phone CAN be a part of the network if you have not opted out and will take note of any tags location if it comes within range of your phone. (via Bluetooth LE and/or UWB depending on the device.)
The reason they don't work on other devices is the same reason that Tile is a less reliable network than either of the other two: Tile requires you to have downloaded and installed their app as well as signed up to have it search in the background.
In a vacuum, Apple Airtags are arguably better, but they only work with iPhones. In the real world, Samsung smart tags have a large enough network that they will function more or less equivalently to Airtags. Tile has a far smaller network, so it can be harder to track your device with Tile - but if you must have a tracker for a non Samsung android phone it's better than nothing for the time being.
As far as Google goes - they have the FindMy network which is as close to ideal as you can get for the android system. They have announced that they will be opening this network to partners, so in the near future you will theoretically be able to use a tracker from ANY company that supports the network. Google announced partnerships with Tile, Chipolo and Pebblebee
https://9to5google.com/2023/05/10...e-network/
This will require new devices that support the new network - but at the moment no devices have actually launched with support for the FindMy network.
So in the future it will be arguably better to get a device that supports the FindMy network. But realistically Samsungs userbase is large enough that in real world testing smart tags work just as reliably as Airtags in most situations - so even in the future they will more than reliable enough to accomplish what they were designed for.
In the end, a $20 device that will reliably allow you to track any object with no subscription fees is not a huge investment. So if you do have a Samsung phone then these are the best you can currently get and they work perfectly well for what they are designed to do.
(Edited to correct that Samsung users need to opt into the network)
Each samsung phone user will have to had loaded the smartthings app and enabled it. So only a small subset of samsung phones will be part of the tracking network, because most people don't do that.
I think on apple this is enabled by default. So all iphones should be part of that tracking network.
I am not sure about google's default optin status.
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The reason these are proprietary is because they require a network of phones that AUTOMATICALLY search for them without the need to download an app or to opt in. Both Samsung and Apple build this into all of their phones - so if you own an Apple phone or a Samsung phone then regardless of whether you own a smart tag or not, you're phone is actively part of the network and will take note of any tags location if it comes within range of your phone. (via Bluetooth LE and/or UWB depending on the device.)
https://www.samsung.com/ie/suppor...-smarttag/
"The Galaxy Find network is made from other Galaxy device users that have agreed for their devices to be used as Find Nodes. Find Nodes receive the signal from lost SmartTags and send the location anonymously to the SmartThings server, allowing for you to find your SmartTag no matter how far away it is.
To help other SmartThings users by using your device as a Find Node, you will need to agree to offline finding in the SmartThings app. This is an option you can select when adding SmartThings Find."
At the moment, the best trackers of this type that you can buy are Apple Airtags if you own an iPhone and Samsung SmartTags if you own a Samsung phone.
If you own any other type of Android phone, Tile is the closest other viable option, but it's not ideal at the moment and you'd probably be better off waiting a bit for new devices.
The reason these are proprietary is because they require a network of phones that AUTOMATICALLY search for them without the need to download an app or to opt in. Both Samsung and Apple build this into all of their phones - so if you own an Apple phone or a Samsung phone then regardless of whether you own a smart tag or not, you're phone is actively part of the network and will take note of any tags location if it comes within range of your phone. (via Bluetooth LE and/or UWB depending on the device.)
The reason they don't work on other devices is the same reason that Tile is a less reliable network than either of the other two: Tile requires you to have downloaded and installed their app as well as signed up to have it search in the background.
In a vacuum, Apple Airtags are arguably better, but they only work with iPhones. In the real world, Samsung smart tags have a large enough network that they will function more or less equivalently to Airtags. Tile has a far smaller network, so it can be harder to track your device with Tile - but if you must have a tracker for a non Samsung android phone it's better than nothing for the time being.
As far as Google goes - they have the FindMy network which is as close to ideal as you can get for the android system. They have announced that they will be opening this network to partners, so in the near future you will theoretically be able to use a tracker from ANY company that supports the network. Google announced partnerships with Tile, Chipolo and Pebblebee
https://9to5google.com/2023/05/10...e-network/
This will require new devices that support the new network - but at the moment no devices have actually launched with support for the FindMy network.
So in the future it will be arguably better to get a device that supports the FindMy network. But realistically Samsungs userbase is large enough that in real world testing smart tags work just as reliably as Airtags in most situations - so even in the future they will more than reliable enough to accomplish what they were designed for.
In the end, a $20 device that will reliably allow you to track any object with no subscription fees is not a huge investment. So if you do have a Samsung phone then these are the best you can currently get and they work perfectly well for what they are designed to do.
https://www.samsung.com/ie/suppor...-smarttag/
"The Galaxy Find network is made from other Galaxy device users that have agreed for their devices to be used as Find Nodes. Find Nodes receive the signal from lost SmartTags and send the location anonymously to the SmartThings server, allowing for you to find your SmartTag no matter how far away it is.
To help other SmartThings users by using your device as a Find Node, you will need to agree to offline finding in the SmartThings app. This is an option you can select when adding SmartThings Find."
Each samsung phone user will have to had loaded the smartthings app and enabled it. So only a small subset of samsung phones will be part of the tracking network, because most people don't do that.
I think on apple this is enabled by default. So all iphones should be part of that tracking network.
I am not sure about google's default optin status.
Regardless, it is optional and I have corrected my original post to reflect that.
Thanks!
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2...ag-for-30/
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i mainly use my Galaxy but I have an old iPhone as my backup and to use to track my airtags
I also bought Samsung tags a year before airtags, the difference is night and day.
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