GUWonder

Tile has a free plan too.

The Tile free plan works the same as Apple's current free plan for AirTags. Maybe Apple too will get into paid subscription plans to track the Apple trackers in much the same way as Tile has done with Tile's paid subscription plan. Free plan = no historical map showing the tracked points; paid plan = historical map showing the tracked points.

exp

Probably a low tie ratio of subscription to free plan.

GUWonder

Almost certainly, as most people probably don't care to map out movement of the trackers since they primarily just care to have a point on a map so they can find the tracker when they want to find it. People usually don't want to pony up for more recurring charges than they would like, especially when the step to join a paid subscription service is an additional step than just sticking with a free plan after purchase of the trackers.

Amazon and Apple will continue to dive further into selling their own versions of bundled subscription plans at some (non-zero) price for consumers. It wouldn't surprise me with Amazon and/or Apple ending up with bundling in tracker monitoring services for those who are willing to pay in ways for the movements to be mapped and mapped ever more precisely.

draver

I am very curious if the Amazon Sidewalk devices will have enough range to reach public areas from within many homes. I hope they do, since the Tile system is testing out to give me decent ranges from my limited experience. The Alexa devices and some Ring cameras may be the primary players in this. Especially the ring cameras since they typically are mounted at or near the front door on many homes and generally face towards the sidewalk/street area.

I can't help but imagine that this alliance may negatively impact Tiles' lawsuit against Apple and I've read that this was supposed to have been released in 2020. That was mentioned in several articles dated Sept. 2020.

I don't recall any In App purchases from Apple Apps, so I don't think they will attach any to the Airtag Find My, but anything is possible I suppose. They generally add features to existing Apps for free.

GUWonder

Apple could also add features as part of Apple One -- or some other kind of Apple subscription plan -- which includes AirTag tracking-related features of some sort that go beyond the current free functioning with the Find My stuff.

Tile Pro does have enough connectivity range to make contact with devices that are some distance inside houses and other buildings, but building construction material and some other things do seem to matter in that regard enough that there seems to be more extreme variability with direct contact range with Tile Pro than is the case with direct contact range for AirTags.

draver

That's good to know. I am learning a little from experimenting with my Tile Pro and Airtag whenever I leave the house these days. At home both suffer slightly from a single interior wood framed sheet rock wall. I have seen up to a 200 foot range with a Tile Pro outdoors with line of sight, about 80 feet with the Airtag. I wish Tile had a more accurate distance scale, but it is what it is. Maybe with the added competition they will revise and add additional features to the free version of their app.

I think Apple may have an aversion to charging for anything within iOS. Perhaps because any new feature raises the wall of the garden?

GUWonder

With Tile Pro I am getting around 200-350 feet when running around a demolished site with lots of concrete and metal, but it's spotty for direct contact at distances in that range unless it's sort of line-of-sight. AirTags no better than that for direct contact even at a fraction of that distance.

I'm curious to see how both sort of trackers go with running horses. Just hope they don't start ringing/beeping at the wrong time.

draver

I have read a few reports that Tile will be releasing a new device "Soon" that were dated in early January this year. I don't recall what the speculation is, but hopefully it relates to the alignment with Amazon and the Sidewalk system. I hope they keep the high level tone and ringback for the phone in the new unit. Those are two of the best features for my purposes.

In other news, I got an offer to pre-order the new Chipolo One Spot today for $28, delivery in June. I don't see anything amazing about it except it is louder than Airtags (120Db) and may have greater range. It will have the U1 chip, so probably similar directional capability as Airtags. Oh, and it can ring the phone like Tile units do currently.

Need

It partners with Find My network I think, and you could set it up with an Android app. So it would be like an AirTag for Android users?

exp

Apple has brought a lot of publicity to the product category, which was a niche thing.

Look at all the articles, Youtube videos, etc. being generated.

May actually boost sales of the competitors because they probably weren't that high to begin with.

draver

It worked on me. After buying the Airtags I tested them for a week or so then decided to try the Tile Pro also. I see benefits to both systems and will probably keep both.

HDQDD

No unfortunately it doesn’t do that. At least not yet. I can see why they might not want to do that (to prevent people from tracking other peoples movements).

GUWonder

AirTags' movements can be tracked, but it requires using Apple's Find My stuff on a repeated/refresh basis to capture enough points in order to plot a map. Almost the same way that a moving iPhone with the Find My stuff on can be tracked as it moves.

draver

Apparently the report I read was wrong about the Chipolo having the U1 chip. It does not, and therefore will not have the localized accuracy of the AirTag. Except for the hole in it, I don't see the attraction. It gets the Apple network location refresh, but gives away the precision finding the U1 chip provides. I guess being somewhat louder matters also, but I don't care about the attachment point and the Apple network outweighs most other considerations. I want a tracker that has a blend of Tile Pro and Airtag features I guess, but for now the pairing will work for me.

I plan to go to the local High School to get some accurate open air distance measurements on the football grid. I figure a Tile Pro at one goalpost leg, and an Airtag at the other should give me a decent range comparison.

Need

Honestly, I think the precision tracking part of the Airtags is overrated. From all the videos I have seen, precision tracking kicks in around 25' to 30'. Unless it is a in a loud environment, or you are hearing impaired, you should be able to hear the sound (if you activated it) at that distance already. Precision tracking would actually come in very handy when my wife lost her phone in the house. She has it on vibrate mode, so even if I call her, the phone will only vibrate and not that strong if it is on a soft surface like between the cushion in the sofa or under the pillow on the bed. Maybe I can glue an AirTag a the back of her iPhone case. Then I could use my son's iPhone to find her phone!