With the unveiling of AirTags, Apple has officially announced its entry into the emerging smart tracker market. The product, which had been rumored to be unveiled and launched in the market for months, and after missing several Apple events, finally made its way to the Spring Loaded conference.
Now this product has to compete with similar models such as Tile Pro and Chipolo One Spot. Products that are among the well-known brands in this market.
But in the meantime, Tile’s smart trackers are the main competitor for Apple Airteg, and due to their multi-year life, they have been able to attract many fans. Tile, however, is unhappy with Apple and has filed lawsuits against Cupertino residents.
Tile’s latest complaint against Apple dates back to April 19 this year, in which Apple was accused of anti-competitive actions through the Find My app and the Airtag tracker. Even a few days before and just hours after the official unveiling of Irtag, the CEO of Tile expressed concern in a statement about Apple’s anti-competitive activities in the market of this product.
However, the controversy between the two companies has just begun and there will undoubtedly be a lot of news in the coming weeks and months about the activities of the two companies and possible complaints. Regardless of these stories, in this article we try to compare Apple’s new product, Irteg, with similar examples such as Tile Pro and Chipolo OneSpot, which are almost on the same level.
Find My Apple Network
On April 7 this year, Apple officially announced the launch of a project called Find My, which allows third-party vendors to use the capabilities of the Find My network to track their products. In fact, with Apple’s new design, peripheral companies and even those that make smart trackers can use Apple’s platform to track their devices.
With Apple’s platform, third-party companies will no longer need to design their own proprietary tracking systems and will be able to use Apple’s more advanced technology, which has already passed the test.
Also, companies will no longer have to design a new app and can use the Find My app to track. Currently, some companies have joined Apple, including VanMoof, an electric bike maker, and Belkin, a manufacturer of wireless airbags.
Chipolo also became the first third-party company to design a proprietary chip compatible with the Find My network. Interestingly, Chipolo products can even compete with Apple Irtag as a serious competitor to tracking, and one of the company’s products, OneSpot, can be a worthy representative for the company to compete with Irtag.
Physical differences
The size of the airtek is very close to a coin, so that its diameter is 1.26 inches (3.2 cm) and its height is 0.31 inches (.78 cm). The Tile Pro, however, is larger, measuring 4.2 cm in length and supply.
The Chipolo OneSpot measures 1.49 inches (3.7 cm) in diameter and 0.25 (0.63 cm) in thickness, which, although larger in size than the Irtag, is slimmer in body. Another difference is that the tile has a square appearance with rounded corners, but Irteg and Chipolo have a circular design.
Of course, there are also differences in how they are connected to devices and objects. Airtags are made in such a way that there are no holes or places to hang in them, so they should either be used without attaching to an object or with airtight holders designed for this purpose.
Tile and chipolo, however, have a hole in their body to which equipment can be attached. This means an easier application without the need to purchase any other peripherals to use these two smart trackers.
Another difference between these products lies in their strength, so that Apple Airteg can last up to 30 minutes in one meter of water, but Tile Pro will work up to an hour in 1.5 meters.
Chipolo, like its two competitors, is not water resistant and is IPX5 certified, meaning it is water resistant and should not be completely submerged.
Signal and sound
All three models support Bluetooth LE connectivity and can be easily found within a few meters. Of course, this function is different in the tracker model under discussion. For example, the LE Bluetooth capability works up to a distance of approximately 121 meters.
But neither Apple nor Chipolo provided any information on the matter. Apart from Bluetooth LE, Apple Airteg also uses two other communication technologies called Ultra Wideband and NFC. With the help of NFC, a better connection will be established between Airteg and the device.
The ultra-wideband feature also sends detailed information for positioning by the iPhone owner. This feature is known as Precision Finding. It goes without saying that this feature is only supported on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models.
While Chipolo and Tile did not use this technology in their products. Regarding noise or the same sound, it should be said that all three products are able to provide sound to be heard by users. Tile Pro and Chipolo play 128 and 120 decibels of audio, respectively, which can be easily heard from several meters away. Although the Airtag is also equipped with an internal speaker, no details have been released on the performance of this speaker.
Find My Network vs. Tile Network
Both Irteg and OneSpot use the Find My network for tracking. When in Lost Mode, the tracker continuously sends an encrypted Bluetooth ping that can be detected by nearby iPhones.
The iPhone then sends location information via encrypted location data to the Find My network, which eventually reaches the user who owns the lost device. The last location viewed can be found in the Find My app.
The Tile Network system, although a separate and proprietary system, uses the same method. That is, the tile tracker sends Bluetooth pings, and after receiving these pings by smartphones, the information is sent in encrypted form.
Both systems are highly secure. But the difference between the two systems is that in the Find My network and Lost Mode, the signals can be received by any iPhone, and this does not require the download and installation of any application. In fact, all iPhone handsets are part of this network and report to the Apple platform.
In Tile, however, the story is a little different. This means that the functionality of the Community Find feature in the Tile Network system depends on the installation of the Tile application on the device. In other words, Bluetooth pings are only received by smartphones that have this application installed.
Other features
All three smart tracker models in question use the CR2032 coin battery, which is often seen in ordinary clocks and is easily replaceable. The battery life of each product is about one year, but Apple has announced that the battery of the Airteg detector will last up to more than a year.
The Tile Pro is available in five different colors, but it is not yet clear how many colors the Chipolo OneSpot will sell. However, it is said that this tracker, like its predecessor, will be available in six colors.
The Apple AirTag is available in only one color, but you can see a variety of colors in the components designed for this tracker. Also, among these three smart trackers, Tile is the only company that offers its product with special services.
According to the company, users can pay $ 2.99 per month or $ 29.99 per year to enjoy features such as free battery replacement, unlimited tile sharing with friends and family, 30-day location history, 3-year warranty, and more.
Price and time of supply
The Apple AirTag is priced at $ 29 and can be purchased in a four-pack for $ 99. This product will enter the market on April 30. The Tile Pro is priced at $ 34.99, which will be $ 59.99 if the two Tiles Pro are selected, and the four-pack will be priced at $ 99.99.
Chipolo has not yet announced a price for the OneSpot, but it is said that the product will be priced at around $ 24.99 and the four-pack will be $ 75.
Which smart tracker is better?
It is not possible to choose between these three models and attach the best tracker label to it. This means that each of these trackers has its own characteristics, factors and factors that must be considered before purchasing.
In other words, if you are an Apple user and dependent on the company ecosystem, Irtag or OneSpot can be good options to buy. Because both use the Find My network. On the other hand, there are many Apple devices among the users that can help to expand the network and find lost items more easily.
If you are a fan of the Apple brand, you will definitely choose Irtag. But if you are looking to save and save a few dollars more for yourself, OneSpot can be a good option to buy. But in the meantime, Tile Pro also has its own strengths.
These days, there are many more Android users than Apple users, and families and people who use Android phones can buy Tile Pro from a network created by devices running different operating systems, including Android, to help them find their devices faster. .
In general, all three products can be described as good options to buy. Of course, the competition between smart trackers is still in its infancy, and we will definitely see more attractive competition to attract buyers in the coming months and years, with newer products and more companies entering the market.