Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag+ uses AR to find your lost things

The Galaxy SmartTag+ will be available in the US starting April 16.

Galaxy SmartTag+ (Samsung)

Samsung had announced the Galaxy SmartTag+ tracker alongside the Galaxy SmartTag at its Galaxy Unpacked event in January this year. At the time, the company had said that it will announce the availability of its tracking devices later this year. Today, Samsung announced that the Galaxy SmartTag+ will be available in the US starting April 16 in Black and Grey colour variants. A single unit of the Galaxy SmartTag+ costs $39.99 ( ₹2,987 approx.).

As far as the features are concerned, the Galaxy SmartTag+ is equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ultra-wideband (UWB) technologies that enable users to pinpoint the location of a lost item with greater accuracy. It uses augmented reality (AR) to visually guide users towards the missing item.

Samsung says that its AR Finder guides users on their UWB-equipped smartphones, such as Galaxy S21+ or S21 Ultra, to show how far away they are from the Galaxy SmartTag+ and the connected object such as a wallet or a keychain. The app points users in the direction of the Galaxy SmartTag+ and once they're closer to the tag's location, they can choose to have it produce a loud ring so that even if it's slipped under a piece of furniture such as a bed or sofa, they will have no difficulty finding it.

Alternatively, users can use the company's SmartThings Find app to locate the Galaxy SmartTag+ using Bluetooth BLE connectivity. Samsung says that once users report their tag as missing in SmartThings Find, any nearby Galaxy device that has opted in will alert the SmartThings server about its location and the user will receive a notification about its whereabouts. Samsung says that all data in SmartThings Find is encrypted and protected, so the Galaxy SmartTag+'s location will not be revealed to anyone but the user.

“UWB is a true game-changer, making it possible to lock onto the position of an object with much greater precision...That's why we're continuing to expand UWB throughout the Galaxy ecosystem, finding new ways to leverage this technology to help make people's everyday lives easier and more convenient,” said KJ Kim, EVP and Head of Mobile R&D Office, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics said on the occasion.