Samsung Galaxy smart tag plus
Buy now £19.50, Samsung.com
Rating: 8/10
The Samsung Galaxy smart tag plus has a regular retail price of £39. This is fairly steep for a Bluetooth key finder, especially when you consider that the Apple AirTag is priced at £29, and the Tile mate, which is usually £20, is often discounted to £15. That said, at the time of writing we spotted the Galaxy smart tag plus was on offer for half it’s usual price. But even with it’s currently more appealing price tag, is it worth buying? We found out...
Design
The smart tag plus looks very similar to other key trackers on the market, like the Tile mate and Chipolo one spot. As such, it’s a black plastic rectangle with rounded corners and a hole for hooking onto your keys or bag. Like some Tile trackers, there’s also a button on the front for ringing your phone or controlling smart home devices via the company’s SmartThings home automation app.
At 40.9mm x 40.9mm x 9.9mm, the Samsung tag is slightly larger than most of its rivals. In fact, the Samsung is about the same size as an AirTag when the it’s inside a case. The extra bulk shouldn’t be a problem for many buyers, and because there’s an integrated keyring hole there’s no need to buy a case or holder, as is needed with Apple’s device.
The coin-style CR2032 battery of the Samsung tag is estimated to last for just five months of typical use (compared to a year for the AirTag). But it can at least be replaced when it expires, unlike that of the Tile mate, which is ready for the recycling bin once its, admittedly impressive. three-year lifespan runs out.
Read more: Chipolo’s one spot is a smart key tracker that works with Apple’s Find My app
Samsung’s tag has an IP53 water resistance rating. This is slightly behind that of its rivals, but means it’ll still survive being in the rain; just don’t take it swimming.
How does it work?
Like other trackers, the Samsung connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which maintains a constant connection between the two while using very little battery life. Using the SmartThings app, you can assign a name and icon to the tag, such as “keys” and a picture of a bunch of keys. This is just like how other trackers from Tile, Chipolo and Apple work.
Using that Bluetooth connection, the tag’s location is shown on a map in the Samsung SmartThings app. From here, you can have the tag play a loud tune to help you find it, or rely on fellow Samsung Galaxy users if it’s lost further afield. This network of Samsung users isn’t as large as Apple’s Find My family of iPhone owners, but Samsung said in 2021 that more than 700 million “helper devices” are connected globally.
Like other key trackers and their own user networks, the SmartThings app will show your lost tag’s location when it comes within Bluetooth range of someone else’s Samsung Galaxy phone. How well this works will depend on the population density of the local area, and also how common Galaxy smartphones are in that country. The tag was quickly located on a busy London street, but we suspect the experience will be less impressive in more remote parts of the country.
Read more: We pitted the Tile mate against the Tile pro to see which Bluetooth key finder is right for you
It also has Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, which the regular smart tag misses out on. When the tag is close to a compatible Samsung Galaxy phone, the handset more precisely shows where it is, using arrows and a distance estimate. Furthermore, an element of augmented reality can be implemented, where the phone’s rear camera is used to show exactly where the smart tag plus is.
How good is it?
To enable every feature of the smart tag plus, it all takes a bit of setting up. You’ll need the Samsung SmartThings app if you don’t have it already (plus a Samsung account, of course). Then, for the UWB-enabled, precision-finding feature you’re prompted to download the Samsung Find My Mobile app, then AR Core, which first requires an update to Google Play services for AR. It’s all a bit convoluted, but eventually, you’ll have it working and, yes, locating a lost set of keys attached to the Galaxy smart tag plus is easy.
That said, on the augmented reality and UWB features, Samsung admits it’s still a work-in-progress, saying: “We’re still working on making this feature the best that it can be. It may not work perfectly in all circumstances.”
We found the phone would get confused in cluttered locations, like a small bedroom, but otherwise worked well. However, we’re not sure if it’s entirely helpful, as the Galaxy smart tag plus can be made to ring quite loud. Once you’re close enough to use the AR function, you’re probably also close enough to clearly hear the tag and find it by sound alone. On volume, we found we could hear the tag from a room away with the door closed, putting it broadly in line with other such Bluetooth trackers and key finders.
The verdict: Samsung Galaxy smart tag plus
Samsung’s flagship Bluetooth tag is much like many others. It is a similar size and shape to rivals from Apple, Tile and Chipolo, while offering a similar set of features. Finding a lost smart tag is quick and easy, provided you’re in an area with a lot of fellow Samsung Galaxy users, should you need their help. Being able to control smart home devices, like lighting, with the tag’s button is a really neat touch that is convenient and works well.
We would argue that the UWB tech of the smart tag plus isn’t worth the premium over the regular smart tag. The feature works, but doesn’t feel as seamless as Apple’s equivalent on the AirTag. We were also disappointed by Samsung’s five-month estimate for battery life, but at least it’s easy to replace, unlike the non-replaceable battery of the Tile mate.
Overall, this is a Bluetooth tracker and key finder that works well, and is ideally suited to Samsung Galaxy users who are already invested into the company’s SmartThings ecosystem.