Serious question: How do AirTags differ from Tile?

[ApeBot]

Not to be controversial, but I got a “tile” about six years ago as a gift. I attached it to my keys and it sat there for about two years.

I only ever needed to use it once. My wife had accidentally taken my keys to work. So here I was at home, with an app that told me my keys were in our key tray (last know location) and I couldn’t send a sound to it or do anything productive. It was basically useless because it wasn’t in Bluetooth range.

With the exception of better accuracy while in range, does the airtag do something my ‘Tile’ couldn’t. Do I have to be in Bluetooth range for it to be remotely useful? I feel like I am missing something here.

Scenario: if I put on on my dogs collar, accidentally leave the side gate open and go to work. At lunch time the dog runs away. Have I just lost a dog AND an AirTag?

 

[ApeBot]

I think I may be answering my own question here with “Lost Mode” but I need to do some more reading on how this works exactly. Sounds like my iPhone is going to be a “listener” for every AirTag on earth.

 

[Howard2k]

The vast majority of Apple computers, tablets, and phones, are going to be listening out for Airtags. So your dog runs out into an open field with nothing and nobody around, and the tag will not be seen. But your dog runs past someone who has an iPhone and it may get picked up.

People can opt out, so their devices may not be listening. And it‘s probably an interval based thing - I’m sure the tag isn’t awake 100% of the time so merely walking past an iPhone might not be enough if there’s some sort of interval. Speculation on my part though.

But certainly the tag does not need to be in range of your specific device.


Tile does this too BTW, but the phones need to have the Tile app. You need to read up on that one too ?

 

[spiderman0616]

Obviously I don't have my AirTags yet, but my wife and I used Tiles for years, and I can tell you how crappy of an experience that was. They did come in handy a few times, but the cons far outweighed the pros.

1) They might be different now, but when we had them, you had to buy a new one every year when the battery went dead, and the new ones just kept getting more and more expensive. No user replaceable battery. The AirTags take the same kind of coin cell batteries that my food scale and car key fobs take--you can get them by the dozen on the cheap on Amazon or in the gum aisle at the grocery store.

2) They constantly went off at inappropriate times in my pocket when they'd even slightly touch anything else, which made my phone chime too, and it was almost always when I was at a quiet theater, a concert, a funeral, etc. Whatever you can think of where loud shrill chimes are super embarrassing or disruptive, my Tiles have gone off, sometimes more than once. Yes, I know you can change that to a buzz or something too. I never got that to really work correctly.

3) Sometimes they just simply didn't work correctly in general. They were finicky about when they could be detected and when they couldn't. Sometimes it was because the battery was dead--the app was TERRIBLE at giving you timely notifications on when it was time to replace them. Sometimes it was because the Tile network, which works similarly to Find My, was exponentially smaller than Find My, so there were simply just no other Tile users nearby to help detect it. Sometimes they just didn't work for no apparent reason. I never had a major incident where I needed to find something, but we did lose key chains a few times, and it wasn't always a smooth experience trying to track them down.

I could probably think of more negatives, but suffice it to say that I let our subscription lapse a couple of years ago and haven't gone back. They're garbage.

 

[hopsenberry]

The biggest advantage of Airtags is the sheer number of Apple devices in the world. Even in third world countries half the people have iphones. So there is a much greater chance of finding your stuff.

The number of people running the Tile app is minuscule by comparison.

There is also the replaceable battery. And the knowledge of having Apple security and privacy.

 

[spiderman0616]

The biggest advantage of Airtags is the sheer number of Apple devices in the world. Even in third world countries half the people have iphones. So there is a much greater chance of finding your stuff.

The number of people running the Tile app is minuscule by comparison.

There is also the replaceable battery. And the knowledge of having Apple security and privacy.

Yep, the power of the Find My network is the big story here, not the AirTags themselves.

 

[dcp10]

The biggest advantage of Airtags is the sheer number of Apple devices in the world. Even in third world countries half the people have iphones. So there is a much greater chance of finding your stuff.

The number of people running the Tile app is minuscule by comparison.

There is also the replaceable battery. And the knowledge of having Apple security and privacy.

Kind of like comparing a Chevrolet to a Ferrari. No wonder Tile is upset.

 

[hoodafoo]

The biggest advantage of Airtags is the sheer number of Apple devices in the world. Even in third world countries half the people have iphones. So there is a much greater chance of finding your stuff.

Looks like it's only compatible with iPhones 11 and up?

 

[MrGimper]

Looks like it's only compatible with iPhones 11 and up?

Only the ultra wide wireless feature as that is dependent on U1. Everything else works on below 11

 

[countryside]

Obviously I don't have my AirTags yet, but my wife and I used Tiles for years, and I can tell you how crappy of an experience that was. They did come in handy a few times, but the cons far outweighed the pros.

This. I threw about 10 Tile devices away a year ago. They were CRAPPY! Even with a full battery, they never updated the location of my keys. They used to not have replaceable batteries. Water resistance was poor. My phone or tile randomly beeped while in my pockets... at WORST times.. often when sitting in a movie theater, church, meeting.

 

[KeithJenner]

I considered Tile a few years ago when looking for something to track luggage when travelling and I never bought them as the requirement for there to be someone near the tag who was running the Tile app on their device seemed far too limiting.

Maybe the Tile network has improved since then, but as soon as rumours started about Airtags it was clear that they wouldn't have this problem. For me that is the main difference.

On the other hand, there are questions still to be answered as to exactly how Airtags will work in reality, which may be better or worse than Tile.

 

[Sword86]

Obviously I don't have my AirTags yet, but my wife and I used Tiles for years, and I can tell you how crappy of an experience that was. They did come in handy a few times, but the cons far outweighed the pros.

1) They might be different now, but when we had them, you had to buy a new one every year when the battery went dead, and the new ones just kept getting more and more expensive. No user replaceable battery. The AirTags take the same kind of coin cell batteries that my food scale and car key fobs take--you can get them by the dozen on the cheap on Amazon or in the gum aisle at the grocery store.

2) They constantly went off at inappropriate times in my pocket when they'd even slightly touch anything else, which made my phone chime too, and it was almost always when I was at a quiet theater, a concert, a funeral, etc. Whatever you can think of where loud shrill chimes are super embarrassing or disruptive, my Tiles have gone off, sometimes more than once. Yes, I know you can change that to a buzz or something too. I never got that to really work correctly.

3) Sometimes they just simply didn't work correctly in general. They were finicky about when they could be detected and when they couldn't. Sometimes it was because the battery was dead--the app was TERRIBLE at giving you timely notifications on when it was time to replace them. Sometimes it was because the Tile network, which works similarly to Find My, was exponentially smaller than Find My, so there were simply just no other Tile users nearby to help detect it. Sometimes they just didn't work for no apparent reason. I never had a major incident where I needed to find something, but we did lose key chains a few times, and it wasn't always a smooth experience trying to track them down.

I could probably think of more negatives, but suffice it to say that I let our subscription lapse a couple of years ago and haven't gone back. They're garbage.

I got fed up with being hammered by E-mails to replace my Tile because I had had it long enough that the battery was going to die. The majority of the time I used it was to test it to see if it was even working as it should, and often it was erratic. Never did plan on replacing it. Bought one for the wife and it was crap too. S

 

[MisterSavage]

My dad loses his phone all the time and has a Tile attached to them. That AirTag feature to show you direction the item in is worth it alone.

 

[TiggrToo]

I got fed up of getting notifications from Tile telling me my keys had been "found" hours previously, at work. Even though both myself, and said keys, were at home.

I eventually just threw them away because they were more hassle than they where worth...

 

[matrix07]

Looks like it's only compatible with iPhones 11 and up?

This is the list of compatible devices
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone X
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 6s
iPhone 6s Plus
iPhone SE (1st generation)
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPod touch (7th generation)

 

[Feek]

My dad loses his phone all the time and has a Tile attached to them. That AirTag feature to show you direction the item in is worth it alone.

If he loses his phone and the app to locate his phone is on his phone, how does he find his phone?

 

[spiderman0616]

This is the list of compatible devices
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone X
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 6s
iPhone 6s Plus
iPhone SE (1st generation)
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPod touch (7th generation)

I’m actually confused here because Apple’s website says only the 11 and 12 models are compatible. Are they maybe just referring to the ultra wideband part?

 

[KeithJenner]

I’m actually confused here because Apple’s website says only the 11 and 12 models are compatible. Are they maybe just referring to the ultra wideband part?

Exactly that:

Precision Finding is compatible with:​

• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max

 

[mrklaw]

I think I may be answering my own question here with “Lost Mode” but I need to do some more reading on how this works exactly. Sounds like my iPhone is going to be a “listener” for every AirTag on earth.

yes. But importantly every iPhone on earth is a listener for *your* airtag

with airtag the tracking is built into the OS. With tile you need to be running the tile app on the background so there are multiple orders of magnitude fewer chances that someone is near your tile to update the location. In your example you should have had the tile app installed on your wife’s phone and then it’s have shown the location as she would have been near it

 

[MisterSavage]

If he loses his phone and the app to locate his phone is on his phone, how does he find his phone?

I meant to say he loses his keys all the time and has a Tile on them, but he does lose the phone also!

 

[Luba]

Obviously I don't have my AirTags yet, but my wife and I used Tiles for years, and I can tell you how crappy of an experience that was. They did come in handy a few times, but the cons far outweighed the pros.

1) They might be different now, but when we had them, you had to buy a new one every year when the battery went dead, and the new ones just kept getting more and more expensive. No user replaceable battery. The AirTags take the same kind of coin cell batteries that my food scale and car key fobs take--you can get them by the dozen on the cheap on Amazon or in the gum aisle at the grocery store.

2) They constantly went off at inappropriate times in my pocket when they'd even slightly touch anything else, which made my phone chime too, and it was almost always when I was at a quiet theater, a concert, a funeral, etc. Whatever you can think of where loud shrill chimes are super embarrassing or disruptive, my Tiles have gone off, sometimes more than once. Yes, I know you can change that to a buzz or something too. I never got that to really work correctly.

3) Sometimes they just simply didn't work correctly in general. They were finicky about when they could be detected and when they couldn't. Sometimes it was because the battery was dead--the app was TERRIBLE at giving you timely notifications on when it was time to replace them. Sometimes it was because the Tile network, which works similarly to Find My, was exponentially smaller than Find My, so there were simply just no other Tile users nearby to help detect it. Sometimes they just didn't work for no apparent reason. I never had a major incident where I needed to find something, but we did lose key chains a few times, and it wasn't always a smooth experience trying to track them down.

I could probably think of more negatives, but suffice it to say that I let our subscription lapse a couple of years ago and haven't gone back. They're garbage.

So if Tile worked properly you would be a fan of the idea of tagging something?

Tile has the option of going Apple's Find My network, so then it would be about choosing between Tile's square shape vs. Apple's coin shape. I think Apple didn't put a hole in their tag because Tile would have sued. Tile also has a somewhat slim credit card shape tag. I don't know why Tile won't just join the Find My network. They won't collect subscription fees, but they won't need to maintain and fix it, and get complaints that ruin their reputation.

 

[spiderman0616]

So if Tile worked properly you would be a fan of the idea of tagging something?

Tile has the option of going Apple's Find My network, so then it would be about choosing between Tile's square shape vs. Apple's coin shape. I think Apple didn't put a hole in their tag because Tile would have sued. Tile also has a somewhat slim credit card shape tag. I don't know why Tile won't just join the Find My network. They won't collect subscription fees, but they won't need to maintain and fix it, and get complaints that ruin their reputation.

Oh I’m a huge fan of tagging things already. I’m just fed up with Tile. My AirTags shipped yesterday, so I should have them this week sometime. I’m so convinced Apple will nail this in gen 1, I already had my wallet ready.

 

[Peepo]

I have a newer tile with replaceable battery but they use more expensive smaller CR1632 which are much harder to find locally when I needed to replace. I agree with others that I set off my phone often when tile is in my pocket.

 

[Celf]

When "speaker" volume is important for you, a Tile Pro is hands down the better solution. Did a "non scientific" test between my old Tile pro and my new Airtag. The Airtag produced max 66 dB while the Tile did max 85 dB. With my Airtag I need the "find my" option to find something (in a drawer or pocket) at home, With my Tile I just press the find button.