T-Mobile Launches $60 LTE 'SyncUP' Item Tracker

[manu chao]

So this is the tracker we have been seeing in movies for decades finally released for public use!

Not quite, the only finally in here is Macrumors deciding to cover this product category which has existed for probably at least about a decade.

 

[ChromeAce]

I think I’ll get one of these and put an AirTag on it in case I lose it and the battery goes dead.

 

[JippaLippa]

I see the same pattern here...
Apple announces a thing and BAM...similar products start popping around like mushrooms.

I'm totally expecting all the major hardware providers starting to make arm-enabled laptops and chips anytime soon.

 

[JohnApples]

Everyone on this forum is so small minded. This is not a competitor to AirTags it was designed for tracking things like pets or other items like a bike. It is not meant for your keys like Airtags would.

This isn't the first product like this. Samsung has SmartThings Tracker which uses AT&T and Verizon has their own version called the Smart Locator. Although Verizon includes the fist 12 months of service for free, then it is $3 a month.

As I mentioned in my post, any benefits this thing offers is negated by 2 negatives: the 7-day battery and the $5/month data plan.

As another poster mentioned, let’s say you’re very meticulous about charging every 7 days, as that’s how long the battery lasts. Let’s say you’re on day 6 and you lose tour item. Well now you have less than 24 hours before the battery dies to locate your item.

This may be a non-issue for some situations, but there’s a reason why so many trackers have opted for low-energy, long-lasting battery solutions.

Then there’s the price. Regardless of what other cellular trackers do, $5 a month is ridiculous. This thing is NOT pulling $5 worth of data per month. And if you’re familiar with T-Mobile’s LTE network, you know that it’s not even guaranteed to work properly even when in a covered area.

So maybe this isn’t meant to be an AirTags competitor- fine. But that still doesn’t make this an attractive product except for perhaps a very niche subset of customers. If that’s all they were going for, then great I suppose. But I stand by my comments that the battery life and monthly data plan disqualifies this for most people.

 

[rafark]

This seems to be super useful! I don’t think this competes with AirTags, both products seem to Serve a different purpose.

 

[GreenPixel]

That's where the international roaming fee comes in

I know you're joking but T-Mobile is seriously the best US carrier for International roaming. I have been to 15 countries and received free data and SMS in every single one. Been that way for years.

 

[matrix07]

This is actually more useful for me with my electric scooter than an AirTag, since it has GPS and LTE. So I might pick up one of these to replace the Samsung SmartThings tracker I have that no longer gets cellular.

It looks good for that but 7 days battery life 😱😱😱

 

[mollie319]

Are we really that senile that we need to track everything?
Don't see the use case for T-Mobile's tracker NOR Apple's AirTags!

I mean, if you really don't know where you put your stuff (keys) on a regular basis, then maybe go see a doctor instead of 'tagging' everything!

 

[iLoveDeveloping]

That's where the international roaming fee comes in

Yes I seen that after I posted!! 😄 Good point

 

[Solomani]

Thats “huge”?!? I thought everything thing in the USA was supposed to be bigger. That’s a small town here!

I can see a use for these for international travel, allowing you to track your lost luggage. Though I suspect this would be pulled out of your luggage when scanned by security as it would appear to be a suspicious device!!
Not exactly a great time to launch either, during a global pandemic when international travel is somewhat limited!!

LOL you are probably right. In say Mexico City, the central city is a population of around 10 million. So one of its larger outlying suburbs is probably well over 100,000 in population.


In the USA, "suburbs" are typically smaller uncrowded cities with less than 100k population. The exceptions might be in the major metros like NYC and Greater Los Angeles.