Amid 'Apple Tag' Rumors, Tile Announces New 3M Adhesive 'Sticker' and Updated 'Slim' Electronic Trackers

[Khedron]

All this does is make me want Apple’s tags more. If Apple’s solution using UWB requires no charging or stays charged for multiple years and is very small and thin, they it will address every issue I’ve had with Tile. I think Tile will be dead in the water.

All signs pointed to an imminent announcement before the last event. Have their been any rumors as to why it was held back? Technical issues like AirPower?

Maybe Apple wants to avoid another Pro Stand laugh track. There's no way they can get anywhere near Tile's prices when even their clear case goes for $39.
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Just saw this on Tile's website, which is possibly the worst promotional image ever. Who thought this looked like a reasonable use case?

 

[whitedragon101]

I wonder if Apple UWB will be able to match that 400ft range of the tile.

 

[bbeagle]

Ridiculous product. Never needed such a thing to find my belongings.

Ridiculous for YOU. Everyone is not like you though.

I have a 3-year old boy at home. I will go to the bathroom, and he will find a way to climb up to where our keys are, take them and hide them inside a toy of his. This product would be so good to help find our keys instead of spending 15 minutes looking everywhere for them.

 

[roland.g]

Shouldn’t the focus be on building a UWB version of this Apple “Tag” into devices like iPads and MacBook Pros that don’t always have a WiFi connection.

 

[iGeneo]

Why not just buy out Tile instead of putting them out of business?

What exactly would they be buying? It appears to be a different technology

 

[bbeagle]

Just saw this on Tile's website, which is possibly the worst promotional image ever. Who thought this looked like a reasonable use case?

The tiles are too big to put on a remote control like that! Looks ridiculous. A key ring I can see, or placed inside my toddler's stuffed animal that he NEEDS to take in the car with him and takes us 10 minutes to find sometimes.

 

[cSalmon]

All of these trackers are way over priced, if you’re going to take the time and use them then you basically need multiples upon multiples or you’re saying only these two items are important. As my little nephew proved very easily breakable.

Granted in real life use I haven’t found them to be as reliable either that or the situation beats the tech, to me they’ve seemed more of a novelty. It would be great if they did work and if they worked in conjunction with a database so you could look at you phone for a packing list. Personally if they were a sticky label priced where you could have a hundred then they would be useful.

I still remember when apple sent me the address where my stolen laptop logged into the detective handling the case couldn’t give me enough excuses why he couldn’t act upon it

 

[citysnaps]

Apple employing UWB for their tiles permitting increased spatial resolution is another reason to consider an iPhone 11.

 

[H2SO4]

All this does is make me want Apple’s tags more. If Apple’s solution using UWB requires no charging or stays charged for multiple years and is very small and thin, they it will address every issue I’ve had with Tile. I think Tile will be dead in the water.

All signs pointed to an imminent announcement before the last event. Have their been any rumors as to why it was held back? Technical issues like AirPower?

Comments like this make me chuckle.
I'm not sure the Apple solution works on Android, with that in mind you think Tile will be dead in the water given Android users probably won't buy the Apple version?

 

[naturalstar]

Genuinely staggered these are even a thing, and at those prices.

The only things I can think I'd want to track are my wallet and my car keys. And even with the wallet, all my cards are either in my phone or on my watch. Car keys could easily incorporate this feature without me needing to pay 40 bucks for an attachment (assuming you ignore the idea that my watch should be able to open and start my car anyway).

I somehow lost my car keys, which prompted my receiving Tiles as gift in the first place. Didn’t realize key fobs were so expensive to replace and I had to do it for two cars. Expensive lesson learned.

As someone who travels regularly for work, I use the Tiles in my backpack and on my home keys (of course). I’m pretty conscientious about my things, but then there was this one time I left my iPhone in a Lyft... Things do happen.

I’m looking forward to what Apple introduces. The tighter integration, not needing to have an app open all the time, and features I could access from any of my Apple devices are what I’m looking to learn more about. That and price.

 

[citysnaps]

I wonder if Apple UWB will be able to match that 400ft range of the tile.

I wonder what Tile's range really is, for typical situations with obstructions such as walls.

 

[newyorksole]

Agreed....time is getting on for them to announce something. Guess it'll be towards the end.

Yeah definitely. I mean for the past few years they did the event “every other year”, but I don’t think there was any rhyme or reason to that.

They have plenty to show and talk about for 60-90 minutes.

 

[macobyte]

Comments like this make me chuckle.
I'm not sure the Apple solution works on Android, with that in mind you think Tile will be dead in the water given Android users probably won't buy the Apple version?

I replied to someone else further down the chain but yes, they will at least be in trouble.

iOS users are clearly at least half of their user base if not more. These people will very likely jump ship to Apple’s first party solution when it’s available, and there goes half of Tile’s revenue. For a relatively small hardware brand, that’s a huge financial hit to suffer in a short period of time and could be dire.

Apple has a long history of releasing products and features that are already represented in third parties’ products and software. It usually doesn’t bode well for the little guy afterward.

 

[ctdonath]

Why not just buy out Tile instead of putting them out of business?

Tile has to integrate with available technology.
Apple can integrate new tech in both tab and phone, releasing superior performance all at once.

 

[carlsson]

Ridiculous product. Never needed such a thing to find my belongings.

Ridiculous post. Never needed such a post to understand why all people aren't the same.

 

[PastaPrimav]

All this does is make me want Apple’s tags more. If Apple’s solution using UWB requires no charging or stays charged for multiple years and is very small and thin, they it will address every issue I’ve had with Tile. I think Tile will be dead in the water.

All signs pointed to an imminent announcement before the last event. Have their been any rumors as to why it was held back? Technical issues like AirPower?

But...Apple's solution is not going to do that. Because it is just isn't possible with currently available technology.

And personally I find these products useless until such time as these technical hurdles are crossed.

 

[iReality85]

I've never purchased one of these things.

As far as use cases, we're talking things like keys, wallets, purses, maybe your phone? How big are they normally- I see these are the size of a US quarter. Do they last long on a charge?

 

[Vjosullivan]

So, I put one of these on my wallet and lose it. What happens next?

Does the device tell me it's lost and send me its GPS? Unlikely.

Or does it broadcast (or respond) to any passer by who happens to be running the same software and notices the ping and is bothered to search for the source and is inclined enough to return it?

 

[Kendo]

Might be a dumb question but are there any repercussions on putting one of these (or Apple's solution) in my kid's backpack when they go to school or a trip or a friend's house? Can anyone else see their location except for me? Btw, I am talking about kindergarten age, not junior high school.

 

[Yr Blues]

Imagine this being abused by stalkers, abusers, scammers, government …

 

[citysnaps]

Imagine this being abused by stalkers, abusers, scammers, government …

How is that?
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Might be a dumb question but are there any repercussions on putting one of these (or Apple's solution) in my kid's backpack when they go to school or a trip or a friend's house? Can anyone else see their location except for me? Btw, I am talking about kindergarten age, not junior high school.

No. Tiles need to be registered to your account.

 

[pdaholic]

Ridiculous product. Never needed such a thing to find my belongings.

Exactly. And who needs to call someone? Apple should scrap the whole phone thing as well.

 

[GadgetBen]

An Apple event must be imminent then. Tile trying to get in there first just like Spamsung.

Only Tile don't have UWB.

 

[RevTEG]

Hey Apple, how about just letting me be able to ping the AirPods case... I never misplace one of the actually AirPods. Or how about allowing me to ping my Apple Pencil...

or how about I just start putting things back where they should go....

 

[dwsolberg]

There are two reasons I'll wait for Apple's solution.

First, Tile feels scummy. At one point I had five Tiles, and still every time I used the app, I got advertising for more. It made me feel that their existing model wasn't sustainable, which makes me think they'll just be bought and killed off eventually.

The second reason is that I'm getting sick of having everything sell information about me and my locations. Small, struggling companies are ripe to make money from selling data.