Tile

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Tile:

Test shows AirTags are better and safer than Tile and GPS trackers

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A New York Times reporter found that AirTag tracking and privacy alerts can work better than other trackers.
A New York Times reporter found that AirTag tracking and privacy alerts can work better than other trackers.
Photo: Apple

Just a day after Apple touted its beefed-up privacy precautions for AirTags — in the wake of criminal incidents involving the tracking devices — an article in The New York Times on Friday showed their superiority to Tile and GPS trackers.

A reporter tracked her husband using all three kinds of devices. She found the AirTags not only better at tracking him in an urban area, but also better at tipping him off to the tracking.

Tile is selling its tracking business just 6 months after AirTag’s arrival

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Tile bluetooth tracker
Life360 will pay $205 million.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Tile, the company famous for its Bluetooth tracking gadgets, is selling itself to Life360 for $205 million. The move comes just six months after Tile was forced to face its toughest competition yet — Apple’s popular AirTag.

Life360, which offers a family safety service, said the Tile acquisition will allow it to “provide a unique and all-encompassing solution for finding the people, pets and things.” The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

Get Tile Mate trackers for $10 less than AirTag, save $5 on Tile Slim

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Save on Tile trackers
Already invested in Tile? Get more for up to 20% less.
Photo: Tile

Not interested in AirTag? Enjoy up to 20% off Tile trackers instead. The teeny-tiny Tile Mate can be yours for just $19.99 — $10 less than Apple’s tracker — while the wallet-friendly Tile Slim is down to $24.99.

That’s a sweet saving of $5 on both models. Or you can save $8.99 on a Tile Mate four-pack. Bag yours before the discounts disappear.

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

Apple claps back against Spotify, Tinder and Tile in antitrust letter

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Spotify is adding 2x as many monthly subscribers as Apple Music
Spotify is one of the companies that has taken issue with the App Store.
Photo: Spotify

In a letter to the judiciary subcommittee investigating antitrust complaints against Apple, the company takes aim at companies like Spotify, Tinder and Tile.

All three companies previously criticized Apple’s dominance of the App Store. But Cupertino says they are simply airing “grievances related to business disputes” rather than making legitimate arguments about competition-related issues.

Apple helps Chipolo One Spot item tracker become a top AirTags rival

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Chipolo One Spot launches June 2021. Price is unknown.
The Chipolo One Spot boasts an advantage over every other Bluetooth item tracker.
Photo: Chipolo

The upcoming Chipolo One Spot could rise to be a top Bluetooth item tracker. And if that happens, it’ll be with Apple’s help. The product will be one of the very first accessible through Apple’s Find My network, which means iPhone, Mac and iPad users can locate it without having to install any software from Chipolo.

The same is true of AirTags, Apple’s own much-rumored item tracker expected to be released soon.

Apple opens Find My network to third-party gadgets

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The iPhone Find My app just got a lot more open and useful.
The Find My application can finally be used to locate items not made by Apple. There’s a crop of them coming soon.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

The Find My application built into iOS and macOS finally opened up to device trackers made by other companies, not just Apple. Wednesday’s move allows iPhones, Macs and iPads to locate lost items produced by third-party accessory makers without needing to install additional software.

The first supported non-Apple products come from Belkin, Chipolo and VanMoof.

Tile prepares to take on AirTags with its own UWB tech

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Tile will speak out against Apple in Congress antitrust hearing
Tile might use UWB tech to improve future item-tracking tags.
Photo: Tile

Tile reportedly will move beyond Bluetooth for its future item-tracking tags, which will add support for ultra-wideband tech. The move could be prompted by a need to compete with Apple AirTags, the long-rumored item trackers that supposedly will employ UWB.

The upgrade also could signal that Tile joined a new Apple program that allows third-party trackers to connect to the Find My‌ network created by iPhones, Macs and other Apple devices.

Tile trackers offer up to $1,000 for lost items

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The Tile Premium Protect plan seems like bragging.
If the Tile network can’t find your lost item, you could get reimbursed for it.
Photo: Tile

Clip a tile Bluetooth tracker to your luggage, lose it, and if the Tile network can’t find it, then the company will pay you up to $1,000 in reimbursment. The goal of the new Tile Premium Protect plan is to demonstrate how confident the maker of these trackers is in its network.

But the offer isn’t available to every Tile owner.

Apple opens Find My app to rival item trackers

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The Find My‌ Network is created by iPhone, iPad and Mac devices
Tile and other location-aware Bluetooth item trackers could soon be accessible through Apple’s Find My app.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2020Third-party item trackers will be able to connect to the Find My‌ Network created by iPhone, Mac and other Apple devices, the company announced Monday during its annual developers conference.

This will be a huge benefit to Tile, who recently complained to the EU Commission that Apple is making it harder for customers to use Tile’s location-aware tracking tags even as Apple prepares to launch its own.

Tile takes complaints about Apple to the EU Commission

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Tile trackers help find lost dogs.
Apple is accused to making Tile trackers harder to use as it prepares to launch a competing product.
Photo: Tile

Tile, a startup that makes location-aware tracking tags, told the European Commission’s Competition department that Apple isn’t playing fair. It claims the iPhone maker has moved to “completely disadvantage” its smaller rival, even as Apple prepares to launch its own tracking tags.

The accessory maker told the U.S. government the same thing earlier this year.

Apple leaks AirTags name in support video

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airtags
Oops! Whoever did this is getting fired.
Photo: Apple

The official name of Apple’s Bluetooth tracking tiles leaked online on Thursday and Apple only has itself to blame.

Apple published a new iPhone support video on YouTube the educates customers on how to erase your iPhone that made reference to ‘AirTags’ that have been rumored to be coming down the product pipeline since last year.

Tile will speak out against Apple in antitrust hearing

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Tile will speak out against Apple in Congress antitrust hearing
Apple is rumored to be launching its own Tile rival.
Photo: Tile

Tile, a startup that makes location-aware tracking tags, will testify against Apple in a congressional antitrust hearing today.

Apple and Tile previously enjoyed a good relationship. Apple sold Tile products in its stores starting in 2015. However, last year, Apple stopped selling Tile products. It also hired away one of its engineers — with all signs pointing to Apple having developed its own rival product.

New Tile Sticker will help you find anything [Review]

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Tile Pro, Tile Sticker, Tile Mate and Tile Slim
The round Tile Sticker is the new model, but there are also updates to Tile Pro, Tile Mate and Tile Slim.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Anyone who’s ever spent a half hour searching for the TV remote can understand the appeal of the Tile Sticker. Glue it to anything relatively flat and you’ll never misplace that item again, as your iPhone can have this tiny tag play a loud alarm. Or put one on the headphones you can never find, or maybe the back of your ID badge.

There are also improved versions of the Tile Pro, Tile Mate and Tile Slim out today to help with finding your keys or wallet. Just don’t get lost in our reviews of all four new item trackers.

iOS 13 spills ‘Items’ tracking ahead of Apple tags

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Tile will speak out against Apple in Congress antitrust hearing
Tile will speak out against Apple in Congress antitrust hearing
Photo: Tile

iOS 13 screenshots have revealed a new “Items” tracking feature that appears to pave the way for rumored “Apple Tags.”

Baked into the Find My app, but currently hidden in the public version of the software, the Items section appears alongside People and Devices and lets you “keep track of your everyday items.”

The best iPhone accessories on sale for Prime Day 2019 [Update]

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Best-iPhone-accessories-Prime-2019
Enjoy these stellar savings while you can.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

UPDATE: New deals added!

Amazon Prime Day isn’t over yet. You have another day to enjoy deep discounts on more than 1 million products, and Cult of Mac is here to help you seek out the best before they’re gone.

We’ve rounded up the best iPhone accessories right here. You’ll find cheap Beats and Bose headphones, smart speakers from Sonos, must-have battery packs from Anker, and lots more.

Bust out your wallet and enjoy these massive savings while you can.

References to Apple ‘tag’ item trackers spotted in iOS 13

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Tile bluetooth tracker
Apple wants to take on Tile.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

References in iOS 13 all but corroborate earlier reports that Apple is working on its own item-tracking accessories.

It is thought Apple plans to compete with Tile by offering “tags” that can be attached to bags, keys, and other valuables. You will then be able to track them using the new Find My app coming this fall.

Revamped Find My iPhone app may get Tile-like item tracker

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Tile will speak out against Apple in Congress antitrust hearing
A Tile tracking tag can be used find lost items. Apple is reportedly designing a rival.
Photo: Tile

Find My iPhone and Find My Friends are currently separate applications, but Apple is reportedly going to merge them in future versions of iOS and mac OS, and add useful features.

In addition, the company is supposedly developing its own tracker tag that will apparently compete with Tile.

Bluetooth 5.1 makes it easier to find gear with direction sensing

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Bluetooth 5.1 should make point-of-interest (PoI) notifications much more accurate.
Bluetooth 5.1 should make point-of-interest (PoI) notifications much more accurate.
Photo: Bluetooth SIG

The lust-introduced version of Bluetooth enables devices to sense the direction a wireless signal is coming from. The goal is to significantly improve the performance of location services.

If nothing else, this should hugely enhance Tile trackers. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is promising accuracy for personal property tags down to the centimeter.

Replaceable batteries make Tile the tracker you’ve been waiting for [Review]

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Tile will speak out against Apple in Congress antitrust hearing
A 2018 Tile Pro can be used for years now that the battery can be swapped out.
Photo: Tile

For much too long, the best key finder had a significant flaw. A Tile Pro or Tile Mate helps you keep track of your keys, the remote, or other items, but each only lasts a year. Then you have to buy another one because the battery can’t be replaced. That finally changes in the new 2018 version. Plus they have a greater range.

We tested the latest versions of the regular and Pro versions of the Tile tracker to see if they live up to their promises.