Samsung's $30 SmartTags Beat AirTags to Launch

[jhahnel]

Of course they did. Samsung are devoid of ANY innovation themselves, instead they follow their long held mantra; 'Steal. Copy. Lie. Deny'. They've been doing it since Apple dropped the first iPhone in 2007. Remember in 2010 when Steve Jobs made the statement about TV, 'We've finally nailed it'? Samsung **** themselves and released a 'smart TV' with a webcam built in within 6 months. Remember the iPad launch? How about the mere mention of a smartwatch within Apple? We've seen it all before. Asian companies tend to steal any IP they can get their grubby hands on - it's in their collective DNA.

 

[jhahnel]

whenever someone says "Samsung doesn't copy Apple", just point them to this and a bunch of other examples in the past.

Samsung copies Apple. Plain and simple.

You mean 'Steal, Copy, Lie, Deny'. Samsung couldn't innovate if they renamed themselves as 'Apple'. Pathetic. Wait for the next Apple rumor to hit, and watch Samsung release another rushed product to market within 6 months. They're a joke.

 

[jhahnel]

Which released Apple product have Samsung copied here? For all we know, Samsung may have started developing these long before Apple, but the bottom line is they beat Apple to market with them.

Come on. Seriously? I can guarantee you Samsung will release another rushed to market product around AR glasses before Apple, because WE ALL KNOW it's been an Apple rumor for years. Samsung cannot innovate. They steal, copy, lie and deny.

 

[Moi Ici]

Because they make a tile competitor before Apple might?

Becauseeeeeeeeee, they copy Apple ALL THE TIME!!
I believe they are now taking the charger out of the box with new phones (Apple first ), they took away the jack port from their phones (Apple first), most of their phones look like apple clones etc etc. And most of all, they ridiculed Apple for all of the above before ultimately copying them. So yeah, they are fully embarrassing themselves.

 

[44267547]

Come on. Seriously? I can guarantee you Samsung will release another rushed to market product around AR glasses before Apple, because WE ALL KNOW it's been an Apple rumor for years. Samsung cannot innovate. They steal, copy, lie and deny.

Well, what you’re saying is merely your own opinion not based on facts. -All- these competitors copy each other, because that’s how competition works. But what others seem to not understand, it’s not about ‘who copied who’, who makes the best product that gives the best experience to the consumer, don’t you think that’s the most relevant point here versus who copied who. Nobody cares about that in the outside world, they care about the experience the product brings to them in terms of simplicity and convenience.

 

[NightFox]

Come on. Seriously? I can guarantee you Samsung will release another rushed to market product around AR glasses before Apple, because WE ALL KNOW it's been an Apple rumor for years. Samsung cannot innovate. They steal, copy, lie and deny.

Samsung was selling Connect Tags (the predecessor of these SmartTags) 5 years ago - well before there were even any rumours of AirTags AFAIK. No they certainly weren't the first - Tile and even MS/Nokia pre-dated this, but to say they're copying Apple with these is a pretty weak accusation.

 

[Snowshiro]

whenever someone says "Samsung doesn't copy Apple", just point them to this and a bunch of other examples in the past.

Samsung copies Apple. Plain and simple.

Lol. Imagine thinking that Apple invented tags.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Lol. Imagine thinking that Apple invented tags.

Lol. Imagine understanding what I actually said.

 

[MrGimper]

Happy with my Tile Pro and Tile Slim collection. Just looking forward to integration into "Find My"

 

[MVMNT]

whenever someone says "Samsung doesn't copy Apple", just point them to this and a bunch of other examples in the past.

Samsung copies Apple. Plain and simple.

I think you'll find they're both copying Tile.

 

[ericwn]

Lol. Imagine understanding what I actually said.

Don’t shoot the messenger.

 

[marco114]

The lack of Ultra Wide Band basically makes this product un-usable for most situations.

 

[hellosil]

The button on this doesn't really make sense for the purposes in the marketing pitch.

I know it seems like it does, but most of the time it does not.

Think about it.

Do you want to reach for the button attached to your keys / backpack / cat / yoga workout thingy when you want something to happen?

No. You want automation, so that

• lights adjust automatically in certain scenarios (arriving, leaving, watching movie, going to sleep, waking up etc)
• the airco adjusts according to your preference (aka comes on when it gets too hot in here)

Anyways, just a thought.
It could function nicely as a self defense safety alarm for those that need one.

 

[Matti_]

If AirTags are not $50 each, I will be disappointed.

I bet that an airtag will cost 99€ 🙈

 

[Matti_]

I wonder if this Samsung tracker will cast a wider net than the anticipated Apple tracker just based on the sheer volume of phones Samsung pushes up and down the market.

I guess that all older samsung smartphones wont be compatible with the samsung‘s new trackers. So the sheer volume doesnt make it better 🙈

 

[Matti_]

Well, they had to beat apple to it. Now they got a rather clunky-looking product that doesn't use UWB-technology and can only be mounted via a cutout that looks like it might break some day, but is more expensive than the ones from tile (which, to be fair, don't use other devices for tracking as well. but that's probably because there's no open api yet from apple or android for this function). why, samsung?

Later this year, samsung will release trackers with uwb functionality.
If the cutout will break easily is not apparent yet. Just wait until first tests are on the net and we can judge about it

 

[farewelwilliams]

I think you'll find they're both copying Tile.

not the point.

 

[TheNotch]

So... do these require handsets with UWB or not?

Smart Tag ($30, without UWB) don't need phones with UWB. Smart Tag+ ($50, has UWB) needs phones with UWB to use UWB-related features.

 

[TheNotch]

Then why not make one set of tags? Samsung is a liar anyway since they love to drop and announce things like Bixby speaker.

Not all phones have UWB to take advantage of UWB-related features, so why pay for $50 SmartTag+ instead of the cheaper $30 SmartTag.

 

[SteveLovesPC]

whenever someone says "Samsung doesn't copy Apple", just point them to this and a bunch of other examples in the past.

Samsung copies Apple. Plain and simple.

Apple hasn't even revealed AirTags yet, so when they do, Apple will be copying Samsung. (Which copied Tile)

 

[SteveLovesPC]

Will wait for Airtags.

Considering most of us on here probably have iPhones, we don't have a choice seeing as these are Samsung phones only.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Apple hasn't even revealed AirTags yet, so when they do, Apple will be copying Samsung. (Which copied Tile)

tile wasn’t the first, and that’s not even the point.

 

[Piggie]

Of course they did. Samsung are devoid of ANY innovation themselves, instead they follow their long held mantra; 'Steal. Copy. Lie. Deny'. They've been doing it since Apple dropped the first iPhone in 2007. Remember in 2010 when Steve Jobs made the statement about TV, 'We've finally nailed it'? Samsung **** themselves and released a 'smart TV' with a webcam built in within 6 months. Remember the iPad launch? How about the mere mention of a smartwatch within Apple? We've seen it all before. Asian companies tend to steal any IP they can get their grubby hands on - it's in their collective DNA.

Kinda makes you wonder why Apple has for many many years bought so much of Samsungs components to fit into Apple products does it not

 

[ericwn]

tile wasn’t the first, and that’s not even the point.

Point is that that this news is in no way furthering any Samsung copies from Apple claims like your opining statement.

 

[Abazigal]

Kinda makes you wonder why Apple has for many many years bought so much of Samsungs components to fit into Apple products does it not

Not really.

To me, these tech companies are like chefs. When I go to a restaurant - I don't say "Hey, you are using similar ingredients as the one next door!". I pay for the chef's expertise in putting whatever ingredients he has at his disposal to create a fine dining experience for me. Two cooks can be given the exact same ingredients and yet come up with dishes that look and taste very different.

I am not bothered that Apple continues to use many a Samsung component in their products. Rather, what drew (and continues to draw) me to Apple is their design-led expertise. Simply put, I am paying for Apple's expertise in putting all these separate hardware components together in a manner which will provide me with a great / best user experience possible.

For example, Apple wasn't first with touch-ID, but they had the best fingerprint sensors in the industry.

Apple has never been a contender in the megapixel race, but they use wider and larger pixels that help with low-light.

Apple uses Samsung OLED screens for their iPhones, but managed to bend them in a manner that helped reduce the bezels in their iPhone X lineup. Most android phones don't share such symmetry, despite using similar components themselves. Not even Samsung.

Apple's A-series processors continue to leapfrog the competition.

Apple does use many Samsung parts, but they use them in ways that allow their products to stand out from the rest of the competition.

Then, there is the special sauce - iOS and the Apple ecosystem which contributes to that unique user experience.

And I continue to vote with my wallet and purchase Apple products when they do.

At Apple product events, the takeaways often end up being related more to how Apple is setting the stage for the future. Certain announcements and features make much more sense when thinking about what Apple will likely unveil the following year. It's the opposite for me with Samsung events. I am just not seeing any coherent vision when it comes to the future.