We advocate Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag 2 in our Bluetooth tracker shopping for information to Galaxy telephone house owners who need an AirTags-style system that may maintain tabs on their keys, baggage and different delicate gadgets. If that describes you, here is a fast PSA: A four-pack of the little rectangular gadgets is presently $30 off and right down to $70 at Amazon. This low cost has popped up periodically since Samsung launched the tracker final October, however it however matches the four-pack’s lowest value so far. In the event you’d fairly not store at Amazon, the identical bundle is obtainable at B&H for $2 further.
In the event you do not want fairly so many trackers, in the meantime, single SmartTag 2s are additionally on sale for $21 every. That is a greenback greater than the system’s all-time low however nonetheless $9 off its regular road value.
Samsung
This matches the bottom value we have seen for a four-pack of Samsung’s AirTag-style Bluetooth trackers.
The important thing factor to notice with the Galaxy SmartTag 2 is that it is a Samsung-only affair. You want a Samsung telephone or pill working Android 11 or later for it to totally work, and it makes use of the corporate’s SmartThings Discover crowd-finding community to find gadgets. The latter is Samsung’s different to Apple’s Discover My community and Google’s recently-launched Discover My Gadget community. (Sure, the names of these items are manner too comparable.) It is not as giant as both of these, so it’s going to typically be much less exact at pinpointing an merchandise that winds up outdoors of your tracker’s Bluetooth vary. Samsung hasn’t confirmed any plans for the Galaxy SmartTag 2 to help Google’s expanded community, both. In the event you’re an Android person who is not beholden to Galaxy telephones, it is best to wait and see if it is value shopping for upcoming trackers from Chipolo and Pebblebee (amongst others) which can be designed to make use of the Discover My Gadget community.
That mentioned, as a result of there are nonetheless just a few hundred million Samsung gadgets that’ve opted into SmartThings Discover out within the wild, we have discovered the Galaxy SmartTag 2’s crowd-sourcing to be efficient sufficient in testing. Its separation alerts — i.e., its potential to ping you once you’ve left a tagged merchandise behind — labored about as reliably as any mannequin we examined, and it does nicely to map out its location historical past over time. It is able to monitoring as much as 120 meters (roughly 394 toes) immediately over Bluetooth, which is on the longer facet, plus it helps ultrawideband tech, which may also help it extra precisely direct you in the direction of an merchandise when you’re shut by.
The system itself is straightforward to arrange, and its flat design has a built-in cutout, so it is simple to stash in a pockets or connect to a keychain. It is also IP67-rated, so it might probably survive a dip underwater. Samsung says the system can last as long as 500 days with typical use, and you may change the battery as soon as it peters out. There are technically extra succesful choices on the market (with extra to return), and all Bluetooth trackers carry some stage of privateness points. A tool like this is not splendid for fending off theft, both. However for forgetful Galaxy diehards who want to avoid wasting money, it is a respectable deal.
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