Tile is preparing an AirTags competitor that can allow you to find lost items through walls

Tile is working on a new tracker that relies on ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, which would put the company in direct competition with Apple’s AirTags, yet to be announced, according to a report by TechCrunch. The new tracker would go a step beyond the company’s Bluetooth devices, allowing you to know more precisely where a lost item is in relation to you, without having to hear the tracker’s ringtone.

Apple AirTags have not been officially announced, but there is already a list of potential features they may have, such as the ability to remind you if you left an item behind or help you find lost items using augmented reality. Samsung has also expressed interest in offering similar features, so Tile can share space with two larger companies. Apple demonstrated UWB with its U1 chip on the iPhone 11, which allows you to target AirDrop files by pointing your phone, but tracking apps are even more interesting.

Image: Tile / TechCrunch

The ultra-wideband (not to be confused with Verizon’s 5G ultra-wideband) works like low-energy Bluetooth. It sends low-energy, short-range pulses at high frequency that transmit data wirelessly. With your phone’s Bluetooth and GPS, Tile can show the general location of something on a map, but for something more accurate, it depends on the sound to help you find things. A UWB device can work if you are several rooms away, showing the most accurate location of something through walls or floors, while offering the features that Tile currently has.

Imagine finding a lost object when it’s out of earshot or locked inside a container. The Tile application (either Apple or Samsung) can point you in the right direction with your phone, using augmented reality images overlaid on the camera feed. In fact, it looks useful and less annoying than a loud chirp from Tile’s trackers (something I almost always fire accidentally).

Image: Tile / TechCrunch

What’s more interesting is that you can already own a device that supports these features. Since the iPhone 11, Apple has been integrating UWB into its popular smartphone with the U1 chip. It also started putting the chip in the Apple Watch, starting with the Series 6. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra already has UWB, and the next Galaxy S21 Ultra is confirmed to present it as well.

Not every device that one of the companies sells has on board (Apple devices like the iPhone SE, Apple Watch SE and iPad Pro do not have UWB), but since Apple and Samsung are two of the largest manufacturers of electronic devices in the world, adoption UWB can be fast.

There is no set date for the Tile launch of its UWB tracker, but UWB looks like it could be a big deal, especially now that Apple has opened access to the U1 chip on iOS 14. Tile and Apple have disagreed in the past about the default location sharing settings that hurt Tile, but at least both companies seem to agree on the potential of UWB in 2021.