In October of 2020, Samsung announced SmartThings Find as a way to locate Galaxy phones, tablets, watches, and earbuds through Bluetooth Low Energy and UWB (ultra-wideband).
The current network is now comprised of over 70 million “helper” devices. This is 10% of the 700 million eligible Galaxy users that could participate, with the company calling it “one of the fastest-growing location services in the world.” For comparison, Apple last week opened its Find My network to third-party products and touted “hundreds of millions” of network devices.
Samsung today also announced two new features, starting with an “Unknown Tag Search” to detect and list Galaxy SmartTags that don’t belong to you but are moving near you. This capability is meant to “ensure nobody is secretly tracking your location.”
There’s also new Bixby integration where you can do a hands-free search for named SmartTags. These two features are rolling out next week and require an updated version of the SmartThings app.
Last week, Samsung officially launched the $39 Galaxy SmartTag+ with UWB, which allows for more precise location and an AR viewfinder. It complements the Bluetooth-only $29 SmartTag, with both announced this January alongside the Galaxy S21 series.
