Google caught up with the competition. Pixel Tag is a new location tracker with UWB and a speaker

In addition to Apple and Samsung, companies like Xiaomi and Motorola have already introduced their own location trackers. Google is now rectifying its previous absence in this segment: the Pixel Tag is an oval locator with the manufacturer’s logo on the front, which you can attach to keys, a backpack, or even a collar, and reliably find it via an Android phone. It relies on precise UWB tracking, its own speaker, and a battery that lasts over a year.

How does Google Pixel Tag find lost items?

First, you pair the tracker with your phone, which then knows its location. Once you get close to the lost item, the Precision Finding feature kicks in: thanks to the ultra-wideband (UWB) chip, your phone will show you the direction and distance, literally guiding you to it. Precise navigation works up to a distance of 50 meters from the paired phone. Google has, after all, been operating its own network for finding lost items and phones for quite some time.

If the keys fell somewhere they can’t be seen, the tracker will also make itself known audibly. Inside is a built-in speaker that will play a sound on demand, so you can simply hear the lost item. A built-in accelerometer also helps with orientation, and in addition to UWB, the Tag is compatible with the latest Bluetooth, which can measure distance – however, its full utilization requires a phone with Android 16 and Bluetooth 6.0.

Battery lasts over a year, body survives water

Power is supplied by a common CR2032 coin cell battery, which you can replace yourself after it runs out – you don’t have to buy an entirely new tracker. According to Google, it lasts over one year, but this is data from internal testing on pre-production units (the manufacturer used a Pixel 10 Pro XL and accounted for typical daily sound playback and searching), so actual battery life may vary.

The polycarbonate and metal body measures just 46 × 28 × 5.4 millimeters and weighs 11.8 grams even with the battery, so it’s practically unobtrusive on a keyring. It’s also impervious to adverse weather: thanks to IP67 rating, it can withstand dust and immersion in one meter of water for up to half an hour. However, don’t count on a wide selection – the locator will arrive in a single finish, which Google named Fog.

For basic functions, the Tag is compatible with phones running Android 9 and newer, but full precise UWB tracking and Bluetooth distance measurement will only be achieved by more modern devices with corresponding hardware.

Details regarding pricing and availability are not yet available. We will update the article as soon as we have them.

Would you opt for a locator directly from Google, or are your AirTag or SmartTag serving you well for now?

Source: PR/Google