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BREAKING: Tile Selling Itself To Life360 For $205 Million

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 22, 2021 by itnerd

On Sunday, I read an article where Tile claimed that they were doing well against AirTags. And that their business is doing well. Well, 24 hours later, the news is out that Tile is selling itself to Life360 for $205 million. To put that in perspective, Apple has $1.2 billion in revenues a day. So read into that what you will.

Here’s why Life360 bought Tile:

Life360 bills itself as an overall family safety app, with location sharing between family members, crash detection, and other features. Over the summer, it announced that it has over 1 million paying customers and reported its valuation had crossed $1 billion. It also acquired another item locating hardware startup, Jiobit, which makes cellular-connected trackers for kids and pets. 

Life360 expects the deal will increase the global footprint for both companies, Tile’s non-Bluetooth Finding Network, and create a larger combined subscriber base. Currently listed on the stock exchange in Australia, Life360 says it has plans for a “potential dual listing in the US” next year.

In a blog post announcing the Tile acquisition, Life360 CEO and co-founder Chris Hulls says, “The combination of Life360 and Tile means safety just got a whole lot simpler for millions of families and individuals around the world. We’ll be bundling Tile devices as part of our Membership plans, and Tile will offer Life360 Membership benefits to its customers. We’ll also start work on integrating our technologies so Tile devices, Jiobit wearables, and Life360 app customers will show up on a unified map – people, pets, and things all in one place.”

So clearly Life360 seriously wants to to up their game in terms of location tracking. And Tile clearly fits into that. But I suspect that Tile users may want to be ready for Life360’s rather craptastic privacy policy. Life360 data harvests and sells your data (including location data). My sense is that this will mean that Tile users will likely defect to other solutions. We’ll have to see how this plays out. In any case, at least Tile has a backer to help it to better complete with Apple’s AirTags.

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How Tile Can Avoid Being A Footnote In History

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 10, 2021 by itnerd

With the release of Apple AirTag, Tile is under pressure as evidenced by them being vocal about wanting “fair” competition and going to congress to complain about it. That pressure is being driven by the size of their network which is meant to help you to find your stuff when you lose it. It is a drop in the bucket when compared to every Apple device on the planet which totals about a billion devices. Which means that if you want to find your stuff, Tile can’t help you with that. This was reinforced by an experiment that I wrote about yesterday where the Apple AirTag was found within minutes and the Tile was never found. And further reinforced by this video done by Zone Of Tech who conducted a comparison of Apple AirTag, Samsung SmartTag, and Tile. Tile largely came out on the wrong end of that comparison as well. Specifically Tile was only found once in their experiment while the other trackers were found frequently during their experiment. That highlighted that there’s basically three silos when it comes to the tracking device space:

  • Tile who clearly doesn’t have a big network of devices to help you to find your stuff.
  • Samsung who has a much bigger network made up of Samsung devices.
  • Apple who has a huge network made up of Apple devices.

Now Tile did cut a deal with Amazon to try and expand their ability to find stuff, just like they cut a deal with Google for the same reason. But that really isn’t going help them to compete with Apple, or Samsung for that matter. So the question is, how does Tile quickly increase the size of their network so that they can be a player in a market that until very recently they’ve dominated?

My suggestion is this: If I were CJ Prober who is the CEO of Tile, I would sell the company to Google. Then Google should promptly integrate Tile functionality into Android so that it has the same scale in terms of finding things based on the fact that there are maybe a billion or more Android devices out there. That would instantly make Tile a competitor against Apple and Samsung as this functionality is built into Apple’s OSes as well as Samsung devices which instantly makes their respective tracking devices very useful. One other thing that I would note is that Google in this scenario should also keep the Tile iOS app. That way they don’t orphan the Tile users are who are on iOS, and it insulates them from any potential anti-trust issues. That wouldn’t be unusual for Google as they already do something like this with WearOS.

The fact is that there is zero chance that Tile can grow their network on their own to the scale that they need it to get to so that they can go up against Apple and Samsung in some meaningful way. In fact I fully expect that if Tile does nothing, they will lose market share to both Apple and Samsung. And if Tile joins the Find My network that is run by Apple, seeing as they’re presently not part of it, the Tile network will likely shrink anyway. So Tile’s best shot is to sell themselves to Google as quickly as possible. I say quickly because you have to believe that Google is working on a Tile like product to compete with Apple and Samsung. I base that on the fact that it is rumored that Google is looking to put an ultra wide band chip into their next Pixel phone. Samsung and Apple have those chips in their latest phones which helps their trackers to work better. Thus it makes sense that Google must also be working on a tracking product of some sort and buying Tile would save them a whole lot of time and effort. And time is not on Tile’s side because if Google ships that tracking product and that phone, then you might as well stick a fork in Tile because they will be done.

Thus in light of the above, CJ Prober should get on the phone with Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai ASAP and play a game of Let’s Make A Deal. Because quite frankly, it’s Tile’s only chance for survival as I cannot see any other scenario where Tile survives in the long term.

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Apple AirTag VS Tile…. Which One Can Help You To Find Your Stuff Better?

Posted in Products with tags , on May 9, 2021 by itnerd

After I posted my Apple AirTag review, I got requests asking me to compare the AirTag to Tile. The question that was being asked was simple. Which one can help to find your stuff better. I suspected that I knew what the answer was going to be. But before I get to the experiments and the results, let’s first get some background.

Tile according to their “About” page have sold 30 million of the devices worldwide. But that doesn’t mean that they have thirty million active users who run the Tile app and can help you to find your stuff should you lose it. In fact, finding an active user count is pretty impossible. So it’s an open question as to how many users can help you to find your stuff. Having said that, according to the Tile app I have 2676 Tile users in my area of Toronto. Contrast that with Apple who has a billion or so Apple devices out there. All of whom can passively find an AirTag whether the owners of those devices know it or not. So in theory the advantage goes to Apple. But that’s theory and reality are often very different. So let’s look at the contenders before I speak of how I tested this.

On the left is the Tile Pro and on the right is the Apple AirTag. The idea was that I would drive them to a location that had a lot of people which was a busy parking lot that was in the middle of the Old Mill Parkette which is part of the Humber River Trail in west end Toronto while my iPhone was in airplane mode. I then parked and walked at least 1 kilometer away. Next I would take the iPhone out of airplane mode, place both devices into lost mode and see which one was found quicker. Now this was a good plan, but something really interesting happened. When I took my phone out of airplane mode 12 minutes after walking away from the car, the Apple AirTag was already spotted by an Apple user 10 minutes before. So I didn’t even have a chance to put it into lost mode before it was located. But in the interest of science, I put the Tile into lost mode and waited to be found. Except that it was never found. I walked away from the car and back in a walk that took over an hour and it never was found. Except when I walked up to the car. That was the only time that I was alerted that the Tile was found.

I was thinking that I didn’t give the Tile a fair shot. So I changed locations and repeated the experiment. This time I tried the experiment in Downtown Toronto. Specifically Yonge-Dundas Square which even in the middle of a semi-lockdown was pretty busy. Again, I brought the devices there with my phone in airplane mode and hid them. Then walked away at least 1 kilometer. Yet again by the time I got to that distance and took my iPhone 12 Pro out of airplane mode, the Apple AirTag was already found. This time it was found within 2 minutes of it being left. Again I put the Tile into lost mode and waited for it to be found. But again it wasn’t found. I waited an hour before I finally gave up.

I believe that seeing as I got similar results twice speaks to the fact that Apple AirTag is the tracker to use if you want to find something. Tile simply couldn’t deliver a result in either location. And I suspect that if I repeated this in other locations, I would get the same results. This likely highlights why Tile is so freaked out about Apple entering this market. Apple can clearly dominate this market without trying. That will benefit Apple users and keep in mind that you can likely copy and past this result for any other tracker that leverages the Find My network. Which means it might be game over for Tile.

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Tile Teams Up With Amazon To Try And Fight Apple AirTag… And In My Mind It’s A #Fail

Posted in Commentary with tags , on May 8, 2021 by itnerd

Clearly Tile is feeling the pressure from Apple AirTag. So much so that according to CNBC, Tile has cut a deal with Amazon:

Amazon’s partnership will allow it beef up its tracking network, called Sidewalk, by letting Tile and Level devices tap into the Bluetooth networks created by millions of its Echo products. Tile will start working with Amazon’s network beginning June 14.

It needs the help because from what I can tell, Tile has a network of roughly has sold 30 million users Tile trackers, but their actual network size isn’t known. Compared to the billion or so Apple devices out there, it leaves Tile at a significant disadvantage. Amazon will sort of help with that. I say sort of because:

Amazon said Sidewalk will also strengthen Tile’s existing in-home finding experience with Alexa. Customers can say, “Alexa, find my keys” and their Tile tracker will start ringing from a coat pocket or from under the bed signaling where to find their lost item.

Amazon also said users with multiple Echo devices connected to Sidewalk will be able to find misplaced items around their homes even faster. Alexa can tell users which Echo device their Tiled item is closer to, whether it is the kitchen speaker or their bedroom speaker and the day and time it was last seen near that device.

In other words, this won’t help you find your keys in Downtown Toronto. Which means Apple likely still has the advantage here. But I guess Tile had to do something to stay in the game. And this qualifies as something. So let’s see how far this deal gets them.

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Does Tile Have Anything To Worry About When It Comes To Apple’s AirTags? Yes…. But It’s Not For The Reason That Tile Is Focused On

Posted in Commentary with tags , on April 22, 2021 by itnerd

Earlier this week at the Apple “Spring Forward” event Apple finally announced the long rumored AirTags tracking device. I did a story on why Tile can’t or won’t jump onto Apple’s Find My network which allows third party devices to work within the Apple ecosystem. But the real question is this. Now that AirTags actually exists, does Tile have anything to worry about?

Tile clearly thinks so. Almost the second that the “Spring Forward” event was over, Tile called Apple out:

Our mission is to solve the everyday pain point of finding lost and misplaced things and we are flattered to see Apple, one of the most valuable companies in the world, enter and validate the category Tile pioneered.

The reason so many people turn to Tile to locate their lost or misplaced items is because of the differentiated value we offer our consumers. In addition to providing an industry leading set of features via our app that works with iOS and Android devices, our service is seamlessly integrated with all major voice assistants, including Alexa and Google. And with form factors for every use case and many different styles at affordable prices, there is a Tile for everyone.

Tile has also successfully partnered with top brands like HP, Intel, Skullcandy and fitbit to enable our finding technology in mass market consumer categories like laptops, earbuds and wearables. With over 30 partners, we look forward to extending the benefits of Tile to millions of customers and enabling an experience that helps you keep track of all your important belongings.

We welcome competition, as long as it is fair competition. Unfortunately, given Apple’s well-documented history of using its platform advantage to unfairly limit competition for its products, we’re skeptical. And given our prior history with Apple, we think it is entirely appropriate for Congress to take a closer look at Apple’s business practices specific to its entry into this category. We welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues further in front of Congress tomorrow.

Let’s think about this for a second, Apple has opened up the Find My network to third parties. Sure that might be an optics exercise. But it also shows that if Tile really wanted to, they could join the party. But they’re either choosing not to, or they can’t. Something to consider is that if they did participate in the Find My network, they would have to have at least the trackers that are part of that network exclusively inside Apple’s ecosystem. Which means that they would be excluded from the Tile network. Something that I am sure isn’t palatable to Tile.

The other thing that I will say on this front is that Apple would be completely stupid to not allow Tile into the Find My party given how much scrutiny that they’re currently under from the US Congress among others for anti-trust reasons. Thus I have to wonder if this is all about the fact that Tile has just seen their life flash before their eyes because Apple just came out with a product that is potentially better.

Now if you ask me, here’s what Tile should really be worried about. Privacy. Apple as part of the Find My network has some pretty extensive privacy features. Here’s a paragraph from the Apple press release announcing AirTags:

AirTag is also designed with a set of proactive features that discourage unwanted tracking, an industry first. Bluetooth signal identifiers transmitted by AirTag rotate frequently to prevent unwanted location tracking. iOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time. And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it. If a user detects an unknown AirTag, they can tap it with their iPhone or NFC-capable device and instructions will guide them to disable the unknown AirTag.

Tile has nothing like this to stop unwanted tracking. And unless they get something like this as privacy matters to users these days, they may face mass defections of users that exist inside the Apple ecosystem who care about privacy. In my case, this feature alone is making me consider switching over my investment in the Tile ecosystem to AirTags because I care about privacy. But I will have to get one in house and test it out before I pull that trigger. Which if you clued in that this means that I will be reviewing AirTags, you get to move to the front of the class.

If anything, Tile needs to worry about being one step behind Apple in terms of privacy rather than go to congress and complain about any perceived anti-trust issues that it has with Apple. If they worry about the former, they have the chance to go head to head with Apple because:

  • Tile was in this market first and has sizable lead.
  • Tile has a cross platform product while Apple has a Apple centric product with limited Android support in the form of tapping an AirTag with an NFC enabled Android device to get directions to kill it or return it.

Let’s see if Tile chooses to do the right thing and match Apple in terms of privacy, or go down a path that will likely end in doom for them.

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So Why Wasn’t Tile Included In Apple’s Find My Network Announcement?

Posted in Commentary with tags , on April 8, 2021 by itnerd

Yesterday Apple announced Find My Network integration with third party products including products from Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof. But weird thing to many was that Tile who by far was the originator of creating trackers that can be found using crowdsourced info, and by far has the largest network to help you to find lost items if you use their trackers. You have to wonder why that was the case as surely there are tens of thousands of Tile users out there who would love to have this functionality. So why isn’t it there? Well, seeing as Apple isn’t the type of company to be forthcoming with this sort of information. So that leaves us to guess what the reason why this might be.

My first guess, and the most likely reason in my mind is this paragraph from Apple’s announcement:

Today Apple is also announcing a draft specification for chipset manufacturers that will be released later this spring. With this, third-party device makers will be able to take advantage of Ultra Wideband technology in U1-equipped Apple devices, creating a more precise, directionally aware experience when nearby.

Tile devices use Bluetooth. So it appears that based on the above, Tile devices won’t work with the Find My Network as they don’t support Ultra Wideband technology. At least not at present. Perhaps that will change in the future. And to add further weight to that argument, Chipolo has a new tracker that is shipping in June that supports the Find My Network. There’s few technical details that I can find about this tracker. But their existing trackers use Bluetooth so it suggests that this new tracker is Ultra Wideband enabled. Which also means that if Tile came out with an Ultra Wideband enabled tracker, they too could jump onto this bandwagon.

Now that’s the non-sinister reason behind this. Now over the sinister reason. Tile has accused Apple of anti-trust behavior because of some of Apple’s requirements that users give permission for the Tile app to track items in the background among other things. Apple may not have been thrilled about that and decided to exclude them from this announcement to send a message to Tile.

Finally a number of people online have suggested that Tile might have some sort of privacy issue that Apple wasn’t thrilled about. I did some research on this and didn’t find any evidence of this. For example, Mozilla has a privacy report that didn’t ring any alarm bells with me. So I doubt that’s the reason.

Whatever the reason, the omission of Tile is curious. And it will be interesting to see if Tile ever joins this program. This will be something that I will be be watching very closely.

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Not Picking Up The Phone Allows KeySmart & Tile To Create A Horrific Customer Experience For Yours Truly

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on March 23, 2021 by itnerd

For the last few weeks I have been working on a new version of my Every Day Carry setup. To that end, I have been spending time researching and buying products that would not only work for me. But I think that would work for other people. During my research, I zeroed on products from a company called KeySmart who among other things makes a product called the KeySmart Pro which not only organizes your keys, and adds a flashlight, but also has Tile integration so that you can keep track of them. My logic was that I could reduce the number of things bouncing around in my pocket, but still provide the functionality that I am used to. So I placed an order for one and waited two weeks for it to arrive so that I can set it up and review it.

Let me stop here for a moment. In the interest of full disclosure, I do get products for free from a variety of companies and PR firms. But I also buy products with my own money that I think would be interesting for you to read. That’s partially financed by advertising on the blog.

In any case, the KeySmart Pro arrived and that’s where my troubles began. After partially charging it as it has a built in battery to power the flashlight and Tile functionality, I tried to add it to my collection of other Tile products using the Tile app. It seemed to go through the pairing process fine. But after that, none of the Tile functionality would work. As in you couldn’t find it using the Tile app and you couldn’t ring it even if you were right next to the KeySmart Pro. That’s when I reached out to Tile support. Now according to this page, you can’t call them. Instead, if you aren’t a premium member which allows you to text message them via your phone, you have to use an AI driven chatbot who will then flip you to an actual human if required. Now I had to talk to Tile support three times. Here’s what happened on that front:

  • The first agent I spoke to claimed that I had not charged it enough. So he told me to charge it until the light on the KeySmart Pro turned green. If I had issues I was to reach out to them again.
  • I did what the first agent told me to do, but it still wouldn’t work. So I reached out to them again. This time they had me do some additional troubleshooting and concluded that the KeySmart Pro was defective. They then suggested that I reach out to KeySmart.

So I tried to do just that. Inside the documentation that came with the KeySmart Pro, I noted this piece of paper:

At the bottom, there was a number for their “technical support team” which I called. But all that did was play a message telling you to leave a voice mail or to email them if you want help. I have to admit that this is bizarre as the only reason why they would take that course of action is if they don’t actually want to talk to customers on the phone. After all, what kind of quality customer experience could you provide if you put a number in your documentation that tells you to leave a voice mail or email them.

So it was back to Tile to try again. I will admit that the third agent that I spoke to really did try his best to help me. But at the end of his valiant attempts to troubleshoot this issue, he sent me back to KeySmart.

Let me stop here for a second. While Tile did try and help me, part of the issue that I think that might have gotten in the way is that they insist on using chat as a primary means to support their customers. The top companies who provide technical support use inbound and sometimes outbound telephone support. It is often easier to support customers using that method because speaking to someone allows you to pick up nuances and cues that you would not get through typing. That helps to resolve issues quicker. Though in a Twitter exchange later in the day, they did say this:

That option is not listed on the the Tile website. So if customers don’t know about it, they won’t take advantage of it and become frustrated as a result. One last thing, Tile uses an AI chatbot as part of their support flow. While I know that chatbots are “the new hotness”, those tend to be useless and frustrate customers more often than not. So if I were Tile, I would dump their chatbot ASAP. Here’s why all of this matters. Apple is rumored to be coming out with a product called AirTags which is a tracker that is similar to what Tile sells. Though I don’t think it will have the level of success that Tile has because it will likely be an Apple only product unlike Tile that supports iOS and Android, which means that it has a broader reach. That may not matter though as Apple does industry leading support via a number of channels. Including inbound and outbound phone calls. Which means that if Tile is only offering text message and chat support rather than phone support, Apple will simply destroy Tile with ease as support is what keeps customers coming back to buy your product. And Apple does that better than most.

So now over to KeySmart. Since I can’t call them and I am forced to email them, I emailed them for a refund. Though that was a bit of a gong show as initially they wanted me to fill out a form that was meant for American based returns. When I pointed that out, and pointed out that I was going to go public with this, I got an email saying that they had processed a refund. That was followed up by an email telling me to dispose of this in an eco friendly way. Though I have yet to see the refund in my credit card account. Given what has gone on, I would not at all be surprised if it never shows up. And I am forced to update this story saying so giving KeySmart additional bad press.

One other thing about KeySmart’s refund process, if you have the KeySmart Pro paired to a Tile account and you return it, they will charge you a 15% restocking fee. Because apparently even if you have issues in the pairing process like I had that are not your fault, KeySmart thinks it’s your fault anyway. Though they say this:

I’m sorry. If your product has an issue that is due to the pairing process, this fee shouldn’t charged. But I guess KeySmart doesn’t see things that way. Clearly this is meant to dissuade you from doing a return.

So here’s the bottom line. This whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth because of the simple fact that neither Tile nor KeySmart really wants to pick up the phone. I might have felt better about this if one of them, specifically KeySmart picked up the phone. Though they did say this:

Right. Sure it is. The bottom line is that they didn’t pick up the phone and now we are here talking about it.

On top of that, I had purchased a few other items from KeySmart via their store on Amazon. Those are being returned to Amazon today and I have already found equivalent replacements for them so that I can use those as part of my upcoming every day carry story. Which means those companies will get a bit of a bump in sales from that story and KeySmart won’t. Proof positive that it never ends well if a company provides a bad customer experience. And that starts with not picking up the phone when a customer is in need.

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Review: Tile Sticker

Posted in Products with tags on November 14, 2019 by itnerd

Tile has been the leader in item tracking for years now, and recently they have come out with a Tile device that’s in a form factor that will allow you to track almost anything. It’s called the Tile Sticker.

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This Tile is tiny. It’s about the size of a quarter and has the thickness of three quarters. But the real magic is that it can be affixed to anything using the adhesive (which was apparently co-developed with 3M) to anything and is waterproof. That makes the use cases for this particular tile endless. The fact that it is waterproof comes at a cost, which is that the battery unlike some other Tile variants is not replaceable. More on that in a moment.

The Tile Sticker claims to have a 150 foot range. I did real-world testing by going to a storage locker facility and placing it in a closed storage locker at the end of a long hallway that was about 100 feet in length. The iPhone app found it very quickly, and the built-in speaker was loud enough that I could hear the alarm playing.

Downsides? The battery lasts three years and isn’t user replaceable. That basically makes this a subscription service as opposed to be something that you can use long term. The flip side to that is the fact that when your Tile does run out of juice, they do have a program called reTile that allows you to replace your Tile at a discount of up to 50%. The new Tile will come with a prepaid envelope so that you can send back the old one to recycle. But that’s only true for those in the US. For those anywhere else on Earth, you can drop off your old Tile at your local e-recycling center.

The Tile Sticker goes for $39.99 USD for a pair. That makes them $20 USD a copy which is a fair price given the fact that the use cases are pretty much endless. That makes this Tile the best one that the company has come out with yet.

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Review: Tile Slim

Posted in Products with tags on November 11, 2019 by itnerd

The people at Tile have been busy coming out with a bunch of new Tile products. Two of them in new form factors. The first of these new form factors is the Tile Slim:

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This is a credit card sized (though it is thicker than a credit card) Tile tracker that has the following going for it:

  • Waterproof
  • 200 ft range
  • Louder ring
  • Built-in 3-year battery that isn’t replaceable

The fact that this battery isn’t replaceable unlike many other Tile products may deter some. But the fact that it lasts 3 years can likely offset that. In terms of the 200 foot range, I was able to test this inside a storage locker facilely where I could find the Tile Slim anywhere on the same floor of the facility which is at least 100 feet in length. It will however not work between floors which makes sense seeing as this is a Bluetooth device and Bluetooth doesn’t work well or at all through floors. The ringtone is definitely loud as I could hear it down the hall with was in the storage facility that was testing in. This is why this Tile will be my choice for being in my luggage when I travel.

Downsides? The battery lasts three years and isn’t user replaceable. That basically makes this a subscription service as opposed to be something that you can use long term. The flip side to that is the fact that when your Tile does run out of juice, they do have a program called reTile that allows you to replace your Tile at a discount of up to 50%. The new Tile will come with a prepaid envelope so that you can send back the old one to recycle. But that’s only true for those in the US. For those anywhere else on Earth, you can drop off your old Tile at your local e-recycling center.

The Tile Slim goes for $29.99 USD for each one. It’s a bit expensive given that you can’t seem to get multi packs to save some cash. But if you’re like me and you need a tile that fits into a location where space is a premium and it has to be loud, then this may make it worth it for you. 

 

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Review: Tile Pro With Replaceable Battery

Posted in Products with tags on November 20, 2018 by itnerd

A few weeks ago I reviewed the Tile Mate which has a replaceable battery. At the time I said this:

Tile has finally addressed the number one issue that this product had which is the lack of a replaceable battery. That makes Tile products something that I can finally recommend without reservation.

The fact that the battery is replaceable is huge. But I wanted to get a version of the Tile that was more rugged for keys and the like. So I got my hands on this:

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Meet the Tile Pro. It has the following in common with the Tile Mate:

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It has the long overdue replaceable battery. But unlike the Tile Mate which has a CR1632 battery which is not exactly common, it has a more common CR2032 battery. The reason for that is that it needs a bigger battery because it has a 300 foot range (versus 150 feet for the Tile Mate) and it is much louder than the Tile Mate based on my ears. It’s also is much more rugged than the Tile Mate so it should survive most things that it might be subjected to. Strangely, it doesn’t claim to be waterproof like the Tile Sport. I am guessing that the fact that you can replace the battery is the reason why.

Tile now has a Premium service which gives you the following features:

  • Smart Alerts: You’ll get pinged on your phone if you leave someplace without items that are deemed to be important.
  • Free batteries.
  • Location history of your Tile enabled objects
  • Unlimited sharing of your Tiles with others
  • A warranty increase from 1 to 3 years.
  • Premium tech support

All of that goes for $29.99 USD a year. While I personally don’t see enough value to fork out the cash, you might. It is very easy to set up, and you can use it to find your phone in a pinch. Not to mention that there are thousands of Tile users out there who can help you to find a lost item which while I’ve never had to leverage that is something that is nice to know.

Tile Pro goes for $35 USD or $60 USD for two, or $100 USD for four. While the Tile Pro isn’t waterproof, I can recommend this as a means to keep track of your stuff without hesitation.

 

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