Android

Google’s Apple AirTag competitor is on the way

For years, Tile had the monopoly on Bluetooth trackers to help you find your devices if they were lost. Apple’s introduction of AirTags has shaken up the market for these trackers. This seems to have piqued the interest of Google. The company may be working on an Android response to Apple’s Find My network.

AirTags for Android

Apple’s introduction of the ‘Find My’ network makes it easier to find lost devices. For this, Apple’s search network uses so-called AirTags. An AirTag constantly sends out Bluetooth signals, which can be picked up by other Apple devices. If you ever lose a bag with an AirTag in it and you can’t find it yourself, you can wait for an iPhone in the Find My network to pick up the Bluetooth signals from the AirTag. Unbeknownst to iPhone users, Apple will send the GPS coordinates to your Apple account and you can pick up the bag at that location.

With more than one billion supported devices, Apple has the world’s largest search platform for lost AirTags. Google may want to exceed that, according to an analysis of the Google Play Services by 9to5Google. A beta version of the Play Services found references to a service to locate other devices.

The website further modified the code so that a setting appeared to enable the Google service. The setting does not offer much information – which must be enabled separately from the ‘Find My Device’ service. According to the description, the feature ‘allows your phone to locate your devices and those of others’.

Find My Device Network

It is still unknown which network Google wants to use to find the devices. Currently, Google’s Find My Device network uses Wi-Fi or cellular data to locate devices. Google may choose to base its new search network, which has to compete with Apple’s Find My network, on the Bluetooth protocol. The advantage of Bluetooth is that it works even if the lost device has no mobile data, if the WiFi setting is turned off, or if the device has no WiFi or data connection at all, but only works via Bluetooth.

In theory, Google could introduce its own AirTag for Android for that. For now, that remains to be seen. What is known is that Google would have a significant advantage over Apple if all Android phones started supporting the search network. There are currently about 3 billion active Android devices, compared to 1 billion Apple devices for Apple’s ‘Find My’.

UWB on Google Pixel 6

The introduction of Google’s new search network is expected to be accompanied by the launch of a new app called Spot. Details about the app are not yet available. 9to5Google says it is aware that the Spot API uses encryption and that the encryption key is rotated every few hours.

Take the above rumors with a grain of salt, of course. Although Google has included the feature in the Play Services, the search giant may just as soon decide to cancel the launch.

Given previous rumors of the introduction of an Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip with the Pixel 6, it’s possible that Google will launch the Spot app and feature along with the Pixel 6. The Google Pixel 6 series is expected to launch in late September or early October at a Made by Google event.

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