One of the questions we get a lot and that we’ve had ourselves from day one, is how will AirTags compare to the competition? Will AirTags be better at locating missing items than Tile trackers? Are AirTags easier to use?
Well, one of the best ways to understand AirTags’ potential is to compare it to the current leader of the pack, Tile. Apple wouldn’t plan on releasing a new product if it wasn’t going to be the best one out there! (some clear failures aside, this has generally been true…)
What Are the Technical Differences Between Apple AirTags and Tile Trackers?
- Native Apple integration – Apple AirTags software / tracking will be fully integrated into the iOS platform (e.g., every modern iPhone will be ready to find lost items from day 1) vs. having to have bespoke software installed for Tile
- Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology vs. a purely Bluetooth-based approach – Apple’s AirTags are expected to take advance of the U1 UWB chip inside iOS devices since the iPhone 11, to more precisely be able to locate AirTag’d objects (even within a building / house / office)
- Network Effect / iOS Halo – one of the coolest things about Tile trackers and the upcoming Apple AirTags is the way they can utilize the millions of other phones out there running the Tile app (or billions of iPhones in the world, when AirTags are released) to help locate missing items. To understand this better, see our article on How Tile Trackers Work (and How AirTags Will Probably work)
- The more devices you have in the world that are capable of tracking your missing keys, for instance, the more likely you are to find them. For example, let’s say you left your keys (with a Tile tracker or an Apple AirTag on them) in the back of an Uber – but you’ve taken two Ubers already today and are not sure if you left your keys in the car, or at home, or in your gym bag… what do you do?
- Well, Tile uses bluetooth to help you “ping” / “ring” or make your keys play a sound if they’re nearby – but that’s only if they’re still in Bluetooth range
- If your keys are rolling around the back of that Uber Prius and halfway across London by the time you realize it, how do you find them? For that, Tile goes to the Tile network of installed users – you hit “Notify When Found” on your tile App and then every phone running the Tile app can anonymously join your search party to help you find your keys… It’s an awesome feature, but you’re banking on someone with the Tile app installed on their iPhone getting into your runaway Uber Prius or sitting really close to it at a light, to help you track down your missing keys.
- The good news, is even with Tile’s currently market-leading but still rather limited installed base (they claim 10s of millions of devices sold – but if the average Tile owner has multiple devices… well, it can’t be too too many users), Tile says that 90% of items marked as lost are found! That’s pretty incredible! Current Tile stats below:
- > 6 million items found every day using Tile
- > 195 countries currently in the Tile community (with active Tile users)
- > 90% of items marked as lost with Tile are eventually found
- So imagine how that will work with an iPhone and Apple AirTags? In our ugh-I-left-my-keys-in-the-London-Prius-Uber-AGAIN example, odds are probably 50/50 that the next Uber rider will have an iPhone, and if they’re an Android person, the next iPhone rider will be coming in soon… So you put out the alert with your “Find My” app on your iPhone, anonymously bringing to bear the billions upon billions of iPhones out there in the world, billions of which (since the iPhone 11) have the U1 ultra-wideband chip, to help you find your keys. I’m pretty sure you’ll find them nearly immediately. Heck, the Uber driver probably has an iPhone and it’ll spot the keys right away. Or the first stoplight on your keys’ journey through London – probably 5 of the 10 cars in bluetooth range at the red light will have iPhones that finding your keys. AirTags are going to be amazing
How Will Apple AirTags Pricing Compare to Tile Trackers?
- We know there’s at least one area where Apple isn’t guaranteed to be as good as the competition… price. So how much will Apple AirTags cost / what is AirTag pricing going to look like? Well, let’s start by comparing them to Tile Trackers
- Tile has four lines of Tile Trackers currently on the market, at a range of prices:
- Tile Pro – $35 – their best / most durable Tile. Meant for keys, backpacks, shoes, etc.; longest Bluetooth range of the Tile line (400 feet / 122 meters), with the loudest ring; comes with a user-replaceable CR2032 battery (roughly 1-year battery life); water resistant (not waterproof)
- Tile Mate – $25 – probably the most popular Tile; 200 foot (61 meter) Bluetooth range and a user-replaceable CR1632 battery (roughly 1-year battery life); water resistant (not waterproof)
- Tile Slim – $30 – skinny & flatter but wider/longer – these are the size of 3 credit cards stacked on each other; Meant for wallets or laptops – things that a low-profile thin card-like Tile would be perfect for; 200 foot (61 meter) range; Other key differences: 3-year built-in (not replaceable) battery, and is actually waterproof
- Tile Sticker – $40 (for a two-pack) – a button-shaped sticker that sticks to things like remotes, bikes, etc.; smallest Tile overall (but thickest); Like the Tile Slim, the Tile Sticker has a 3-year built-in (not replaceable) battery, and is actually waterproof
So, what is Apple going to charge for its AirTags?
This is the key question – we know that AirTags will have a structural advantage over Tile given the huge installed base of Apple iOS users and the U1 ultra-wideband chip, but how will AirTags compete with Tile in terms of price?
One area to look to is the service concept – Apple has been focused on expanding its services revenue (AppleCare, iTunes, App Store, Apple Pay, Apple News, Apple Music, new Apple One bundles, etc.) to help the company continue to drive top-line growth in the face of long-term iPhone market saturation (everyone already has an iPhone – they’ll occasionally upgrade to a new one, but they probably don’t each need two, so there are only so many they can sell each year now!)
Can AirTags help Apple in two areas by creating both a new hardware product and a new service area? We think this is likely!
Let’s look to Tile again. Tile offers its Tile Premium service for either $3/month or $30/year which gives “Smart Alerts” and free battery replacements. The “Smart Alerts” concept is definitely something Apple should mimic – they can alert your phone as you’re walking away from your keys before you notice that you left them at the restaurant. That’s a pretty valuable feature. Free battery replacements every 1-3 years when they run out? Not sexy, but sure, I’ll definitely take that too.
Tile also offers a new version of premium – its “Tile Premium Protect” for $100/year. This one is a combination of the Tile Premium above + insurance for your items. Basically, it covers up to $1,000 / year for lost items if Tile cannot find them. Cool, but for $70 more a year, I hope you’re protecting more valuable things than you’re remote? And man, if I couldn’t find my puppy with a Tile on his collar, well, I guess $1,000 would adopt a lot of new dogs, but it wouldn’t make me less sad – I’d have wished I would have bought Apple AirTags and been able to find Fido instead.
I’d expect Apple to want to undercut Tile on price in some fashion, while still driving services revenue. Maybe AirTags will always come bundled with the service – so they’re $50 a year for instance, instead of a separate up-front cost and monthly fee? I’m sure Apple will offer AppleCare on them as well. We’ll have to see what they do in terms of pricing… What do you think?
