SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 30: Loop and key ring accessories for the new AirTags on display at the Apple Store George Street on April 30, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Apple's latest accessory, the AirTag is a small device that helps people keep track of belongings, using Apple's Find My network to locate lost items like keys, wallet, or a bag. (Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images)
Tech - News
The Best AirTag Alternatives For Android Phones
By JULIAN VAN DER MERWE
Apple undeniably makes dependable, high-quality tech goods, but these products can only be used with other Apple devices, which is often a deal-breaker for people who like to have more diverse options. Useful products like the GPS tracking device Apple AirTags won’t work with Android phones, but there are alternatives to the tech giant’s product.
The Tile GPS tracker works on a similar principle to Apple’s Find My network feature, except it exclusively uses the Tile Network, offering a variety of devices and different subscriptions to access the features in the tracking hardware. The free subscriptions provide functions like Find Nearby and Find Far Away, while the paid service includes features such as Item Reimbursement.
Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag and SmartTag+ devices are excellent alternatives to AirTags. Like the AirTags, the SmartTags use nearby devices on the SmartThings and Galaxy Find networks to report their location. Their similarities continue as the device can only be used by other Samsung products and relies on replaceable CR2032 batteries instead of rechargeable ones.
Although not all Chipolo trackers work for Androids, the regular Chipolo ONE and CARD offer an alternative with unique features like the Out of Range Alert. These trackers may not have the long-range tracking capabilities of their Apple, Samsung, and Tile counterparts, but the Chipolo app can tell you where the device was last seen and trigger an alarm when it’s in range.
Taking a different approach, Cube’s GPS Tracker has built-in GPS and LTE hardware that allows for worldwide tracking, regardless of nearby networked devices. Cube offers short-range with no subscription fee and the worldwide GPS Tracker with a monthly or annual subscription. While the battery life is a downside, the GPS Tracker has an SOS button perfect for going into the wilderness.