If you’re shopping for a Bluetooth tracker this holiday season, you’re likely choosing between an AirTag and a Tile. Apple arguably popularized the category with the AirTag, but Tile (which was just acquired by family tracking software company Life360) has been in the game much longer and has a wider variety of models. We have everything you need to know to figure out which tracker is right for you.
Pricing and Models
Neither the AirTag nor a Tile will break the bank. A single AirTag sells for $29, and you can get a pack of four for $99. That said, you still need to buy a loop or strap to attach it to whatever you wish to track. Apple sells a range of AirTag accessories, ranging in price from $12.95 key rings to $449 Hermès luggage tags.
Tile’s lineup is signifcantly more diverse. The Tile Mate is the least expensive of the bunch at $24.99, and the closest in size to the AirTag (albeit with a built-in hole for a key ring). The larger Tile Pro (which also has a hole for a keyring) and the wallet-friendly Tile Slim each go for $34.99, while a pack of two Tile Stickers (that literally stick onto objects like remotes) will set you back $54.99. You likely don’t need accessories to attach any of Tile’s products to the items you wish to track, but you do have to pay for a Premium membership ($29.99 per year) to access a number of essential features.
The AirTag and all of the Tile trackers have an IP67 rating, which means they can withstand being submerged in up to a meter of fresh water for an hour. The AirTag and Tile Pro have replaceable batteries, while the rest of Tile’s lineup uses non-replaceable batteries that should last about three years.
Compatibility
The most important factor to consider when choosing a Bluetooth tracker is compatibility. After all, a tracker is useless if it doesn’t work with your device.
AirTags only work with devices that run iOS and iPadOS, so you need to own an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to use them. The AirTag’s best feature, Precision Finding—which uses ultra-wideband (UWB) to provide turn-by-turn directions—requires an iPhone 11 or newer.
Tile, on the other hand, offers apps for Android and iOS, so its trackers work with just about any recent smartphone. If you’re an Android user, Tile is the way to go.
For what it’s worth, the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag and SmartTag Plus are solid options for Galaxy smartphone owners, but they have yet to gain the same popularity as the competition.
Location Accuracy
Apple has the upper hand when it comes to location accuracy for a number of reasons, including the aforementioned UWB support that enables precise directions to guide you to your lost object. And because the AirTag uses the Find My app built into every iPhone and iPad, it taps into a much wider network of users than Tile, which requires you to install an app on your phone to become part of its location network.
Tile’s trackers use Bluetooth and the company’s network of users to help you locate lost devices. As mentioned, Tile doesn’t yet offer a UWB tracker, though it plans to release one early next year.
In testing, we were able to track down lost items much faster using the AirTag than with any of the Tile models. Whereas the Tile Pro took around an hour to locate a lost item, the AirTag took just a minute. And while the AirTag can offer directions to guide you directly to your lost object, the Tile app merely shows whether you’re getting closer.
Software and Features
Apple’s Find My app is sleeker and more intuitive than Tile’s. In addition to your iPhone, iPad, or iPad touch, you can launch it from any web browser, as well as from a HomePod or HomePod mini. If you own an iPhone 11 or newer, you can use the Precision Finding feature app for turn-by-turn directions to your lost item. And if you forget to grab an item with an attached AirTag, you get a notification on your iPhone once it’s out of range.
Setting up an AirTag is also easy. Simply hold one to your iPhone or iPad and a notification will appear to walk you through the rest of the process, which essentially just requires you to name the tracker.
Tile’s approach is a little different. The Tile app shows your tracker’s location and, if you’re out of range, lets you enable its lost mode. For $29.99 per year, a Premium membership unlocks features such as 30 day’s worth of location history, tracker sharing, and Smart Notifications (alerts when you leave an item behind).
Tile works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and even Xfinity voice remotes if you set it up in advance, but you can’t search for lost items from a web browser.
Setting up one of Tile’s trackers is a little more complicated than an AirTag. You need to download the Tile app, create an account, and update permissions on your phone. After that, you need to tap an icon to add a new Tile in the app, then tap a button on the actual tracker. Finally, you have to name the tracker and assign an icon for it. Although this sounds like a lot of steps, it only takes a minute or two.
Safety
Like many tech products, the AirTag and Tile trackers can be used for digital stalking, and this is compounded by their small size and affordability.
Shortly after it released the AirTag, Apple pushed a firmware update to improve its safety measures. When an AirTag isn’t in range of the person who registered it for an extended period or it is traveling with an unregistered person, it will begin to chirp. The exact length of time before you hear the first alert varies, but it’s between 8 and 24 hours.
Should you find an AirTag in your bag or get an “AirTag Found Traveling With You” message on your iPhone, you can tap the AirTag against any phone with NFC to get its serial number and details on how to disable it. You can also simply unscrew the AirTag and remove its battery. Contact your local law enforcement if you believe your safety is in jeopardy; they can work with Apple.
Tile doesn’t currently offer any anti-stalking features, but plans to deploy a software update that will let individuals scan for nearby trackers in 2022. It’s not an elegant solution, however, because it requires you to download the Tile app and proactively scan for trackers.
AirTag for iPhone Owners, Tile for Everyone Else
The AirTag is the clear winner here, and the tracker we recommend to anyone with a compatible iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Android phone owners, meanwhile, should pick the Tile that best suits their needs.
For more, see our guide to setting up your AirTag and everything else you need to know about using it.
