According to Reports, Google is Creating a Rival to Apple’s AirTag Tracker
Everyone compares Google Pixel phones to Apple and its iPhones when we talk about smartphone ecosystems, but what about their accessories?
Both Google and Apple sell a variety of products, including smart speakers and headphones, and in 2021 Apple achieved a surprising success with the release of its AirTag trackers. Now, a fresh piece of information has sparked a new speculation that Google may be about to introduce a very similar tracker of its own.
Developer Kuba Wojciechowski claims that Google is developing a location monitoring tag to compete with products like Apple’s AirTags and Tile trackers.
Wojciechowski found references that suggest Google is working on supporting locating tags in Fast Pair, the company’s mechanism for swiftly pairing nearby Bluetooth devices, and claimed in a Twitter conversation that Google is creating its own first-party tracker to use with the functionality.
Location Monitoring Tag
Additionally, according to Wojciechowski, “Grogu” trackers could support Bluetooth LE and ultra-wideband. Even though Wojciechowski asserts that “Google’s tracker most likely has UWB, it’s not a requirement for the “Finder Network” they’re working on — BLE is enough,” UWB offers much greater precision for locating lost items than Bluetooth, providing the ability to show both distance estimations and directions to a tag.
Apple created the tracking system called AirTag. The purpose of AirTag is to serve as a key finder and assist users in locating personal items.
There is nothing new about wireless trackers; businesses like Tile have been making them for years. Samsung released their own SmartTags to join the fun. But as we have observed countless times before, it took Apple’s involvement for people to start paying attention.
As Google’s Fast Pair gets ready to offer support for a new “locator tag” product type, Android expert Mishaal Rahman earlier today highlighted some of his most recent findings. Developer and leaker Kuba Wojciechowski then played the trump card, Grogu, with everything else out on the table.
Given the privacy nightmare that AirTags turned out to be for Apple, it might be a good idea for Google to spend a little additional time considering some of those potential circumstances and proactively developing defensive mechanisms.