On Monday, Google announced that it has caught up with the Joneses, and lit up its own Android tracking network, similar to Apple’s Find My asset tracker whose most popular product is perhaps the AirTag.
Google’s Find My device options include phone tracking through the power of the million of Bluetooth-enabled devices around it running Android. It will also offer tag support from next month, where smart tags by popular brands like Chipolo will be able to communicate with Google’s new tracking platform just like Apple’s AirTags.
Nest integration and easy key sharing, as well as Find Nearby button for immediate phone location are a go, too, as with any self-respecting tracking service. Third-party headphone brands like Sony or JBL will also be able to integrate Android’s asset tracking functionality with a software update.
Google Find My device on empty won’t be exclusive to the Pixel 8
One of the more intriguing features of Google’s find my device network is the ability to track and locate a phone even when its battery is dead and the handset wouldn’t turn on. At first, Google announced the availability of the Find My device on empty battery feature only for its latest Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro handsets.
At the time, Google said that they have special hardware inside, probably a low power Bluetooth chip which is able to emit signal even when the battery capacity left is not enough to power on the device.
Google, however, has now confirmed that device tracking on empty battery is coming to other Android phones further down the line. Unfortunately, it is only mentioning premium Androids as being potentially capable of this feature.
Google, however, has now confirmed that device tracking on empty battery is coming to other Android phones further down the line. Unfortunately, it is only mentioning premium Androids as being potentially capable of this feature.
That is rather explicable, since they are the ones with the most modern chipsets that have every available connectivity technology, including the latest low-power Bluetooth chips, cramped in their system boards.
“We are working with other SOCs and OEMs on how we can bring the capability to find devices with dead batteries to additional premium Android devices,” Google has advised. Now, the only thing left to know is if 2024 phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and its crushing Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, will be considered “premium” enough to get the Find My device on empty battery feature, too.
