Here’s hoping the second generation stacks up better against Apple AirTags
Any tech company would be lying if it told you it didn’t take inspiration from the competition. The cycle of innovation in mobile starts with Samsung some years, Apple on others, and sometimes even Google or Microsoft come up with a fresh idea — but one company can’t just let another keep a leg up, so they release their own version of the feature, and it ends up seeming like everybody is just copying off of their neighbor’s paper.
This was the case when Apple released AirTags, which almost felt like a direct copy of Tile Trackers. Samsung actually unveiled its Galaxy SmartTags a few months before AirTags made their debut in 2021, but because Apple’s marketing machine had spun up in advance of its AirTags announcement, Galaxy SmartTags were viewed as a copy of a copy, and Samsung’s useful accessory was met with lukewarm reviews before falling out of the zeitgeist shortly after its release.
Source: Samsung
Samsung could be releasing a new version of its Galaxy SmartTags within a few months.
It appears Samsung is finally ready to take another crack at the Bluetooth tracker market, according to a report from SamMobile. The second-generation series of Galaxy SmartTags is said to be set for an unveiling in Q3 2023, which would be anywhere from four to six months from now. There’s no word on any potential improvements, but the trackers are expected to debut alongside the Galaxy Watch 6, Galaxy Buds 3, and potentially, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5.
Interestingly, this release might not be about beating Apple to the punch, but rather Google — the Mountain View company is expected to debut its own Bluetooth tracker sometime soon, so Samsung could be feeling pressure from within the Android ecosystem to update its product line. Whatever the cause, we just hope the new SmartTags address the inherent problem with stalking that Bluetooth trackers seem to have.
