Samsung Galaxy SmartTags Could Get Big Hardware Updates In 2023
More than two years after Samsung announced its first object tracker — the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag — the company is planning to give the product lineup its first major update. A new report by Sammobile indicates that Samsung intends to launch second-gen SmartTags at the company's next major "Unpacked" event later this year. The report also added that this event is also likely to witness the launch of Samsung's next-generation of foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5, alongside the rumored Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Buds 3 models.
For those unaware, the Samsung SmartTag made it to the market several months before the Apple AirTag arrived on the scene. While Apple AirTags went on to sell more than $1 Billion worth of AirTags as of December 2022, data surrounding the shipment and sales figures for Samsung SmartTags are hard to come by.
With its next generation of SmartTags, Samsung is hoping to change all that. To begin with, the company plans to give the SmartTag a significant hardware upgrade that would address most of the flaws of the existing models. With these changes, Samsung hopes to create a sizable impact on the object tracking segment — something it hasn't really managed to do so far.
Enhanced range, security, and better SmartThings integration likely
A major change likely coming to the next generation of Galaxy SmartTags is better range. The existing lineup of Samsung SmartTags has an approximate range of 120 meters using Bluetooth connectivity, but according to the report, this range could see further improvements this year. There is also talk about the base model SmartTag finally getting UWB (Ultra Wide Band) support for more accurate tracking — a feature restricted to the more expensive SmartTag Plus.
One of the major drawbacks of the existing SmartTag models is mediocre battery life compared to the competition. Samsung Smart Tags, on average, have a battery life of less than six months; which may look good in isolation, but pales in comparison to the AirTag's one-year battery life. With the upcoming new models, Samsung could fix this flaw, though it's unclear to what degree.
Even though object-tracking devices have been around for several years now, this segment continues to be plagued by privacy concerns, including unauthorized device tracking. Samsung is expected to take several steps to reduce instances of unauthorized tracking with its next generation SmartTags. The upcoming SmartTag models could open up newer opportunities and features for existing SmartTag owners, including the ability to control several smart home features.
Samsung is expected to announce a refresh of the Galaxy SmartTag lineup with the company's next major "Unpacked" launch event.