Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which tracker is better?

  • Tile

    Votes: 3 10.3%
  • Tile Slim

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Tile + Premium Service within app

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Apple AirTags

    Votes: 26 89.7%

  • Total voters
    29
  • Poll closed .

SegNerd

macrumors 6502
Feb 28, 2020
303
308
Because I already own Tiles, and they make one that fits nicely in my wallet. Why would I invest $100 to switch to a system that doesn’t even have as many features?
 

Celf

macrumors member
Aug 4, 2008
88
24
Who here still prefers using tiles for tracking stuff over Apple AirTags?

to you I ask: why?
I use both of them.

The AirTag has only 1 very good feature and that's the "find my" network.

As I posted in another thread, the U1 chip is a joke, a gimmick. The precision finding only kicks in about 3 to 4 feet from the tag I'm looking for.
The Tile is seriously louder, almost 20 dB (at 1 meter). Living in a relative small house (2 floors) I can hear the Tile everywhere in my house. Not with the AirTag.
BT range of my Tile Pro is significantly better. Example: Keys (with AirTag) in my house. Myself standing in the garden, just a glass door in between. Distance in a straight line is appr. 25 feet. Searching for my airtag it's says "Weak signal", 10 feet more and the signal is lost ("searching for signal"). With a Tile pro I can double that distance.
With a Tile you don't need extra keyrings or holders!!

Tile has 2 serious flaws, the Tile "find my" network and the paid premium features and that's why I use them both.
 

bumpylumpy

macrumors regular
Mar 13, 2015
121
239
The Tile is seriously louder, almost 20 dB (at 1 meter). Living in a relative small house (2 floors) I can hear the Tile everywhere in my house. Not with the AirTag.

I also use both Tile and Airtag. The Tile is much, MUCH louder. This is critically important for my aging parents, for whom I have attached Tiles to their keys (which they are constantly misplacing). With Tile, and their hearing aids, they actually have a chance at hearing them someplace in the same room. With Airtags, it's impossible. I've tried repeatedly to get them to be able to hear the Airtags chirping sound but it's essentially impossible unless it is sitting within about 10 feet from them, which makes them pretty much useless.

I'm hopeful that Chipolo's new tracker will be at least as loud as the Tile. If so, I will switch to that. But for now, we will live with the Tiles.
 

bigjnyc

macrumors G3
Apr 10, 2008
8,105
7,147
I already own tiles that attach to my keys without having to buy a case that costs more than the tracker itself ?‍♂️


Was a poll really necessary lol? this is an Apple products forum, you knew damn well what the results were going to be.
 

Bob Coxner

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2011
855
58
I use both of them.

The AirTag has only 1 very good feature and that's the "find my" network.

As I posted in another thread, the U1 chip is a joke, a gimmick. The precision finding only kicks in about 3 to 4 feet from the tag I'm looking for.
The Tile is seriously louder, almost 20 dB (at 1 meter). Living in a relative small house (2 floors) I can hear the Tile everywhere in my house. Not with the AirTag.
BT range of my Tile Pro is significantly better. Example: Keys (with AirTag) in my house. Myself standing in the garden, just a glass door in between. Distance in a straight line is appr. 25 feet. Searching for my airtag it's says "Weak signal", 10 feet more and the signal is lost ("searching for signal"). With a Tile pro I can double that distance.
With a Tile you don't need extra keyrings or holders!!

Tile has 2 serious flaws, the Tile "find my" network and the paid premium features and that's why I use them both.

I also have both and find the same results. I put my Tile Pro and AirTag next to each other in the back yard and had a similar experience to yours. The Tile had a much longer range and the sound was much louder. The Tile Pro is only Tile I have to compare to the AirTag, so the results may be different with other Tiles.

AirTags currently have the advantage of being in the Apple network. I use my Tile for my cat. With the AirTag on her collar, if she roams far away I would get an alert when she passes by someone's iPhone or iPad.

Tile will soon have a feature that may be the equal to the Apple network. Tile will work with the new Amazon Sidewalk feature. If my cat roams and passes by someone's Amazon Echo, Ring doorbell camera, Ring security camera, etc, (basically any Amazon wireless device) then I would get an alert and notification of the location. Sidewalk will be introduced shortly, so it's too early to know how well it will work.

I have to say that overall I'm disappointed with the AirTag. I was anxiously waiting for it for a few years but the reality hasn't met my expectations. It definitely needs a longer range and louder sounds.
 

One2Grift

Cancelled
Jun 1, 2021
609
546
I don’t see why anyone would want Tile to die off. Competition is a good thing for all of us.

Just pick whatever product works for your needs. Others will do the same for their needs.
Well said.
Want to see what virtually no competition gets? Think back to Microsoft Windows ME or Vista. That’s a lack of competition run amok. Or see an airport that contains a major carrier but contains little to no competition.
Without one serious competitor to the main player, history says you’ll get mediocre to ever less quality for ever more price.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.