Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus
Convenient tracking for Samsung owners.
If you’re prone to forgetting various things from your wallet to your keys or even your bag, the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus is almost certain to be instantly appealing to you. It’s a device you attach to your precious item, so you can use its Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) chip to help you track it down if the worst happens.
It’s compact and practical. Providing that is, you already own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. That’s the main catch to the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus - it exclusively works with Samsung phones. If you own a different Android phone, you’re out of luck.
If you want the full benefits, which includes the ability to use your phone’s rear-facing camera to guide you towards the SmartTag, you’ll need one of the latest Samsung phones such as the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy S21 Plus, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, or Galaxy Z Fold 2 or above to use the feature.
That’s a bit limiting for some, but those who are able to use the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus will appreciate it. It’s small and lightweight, albeit not quite as small as a Tile tracker, and it takes seconds to set up.
Using a CR2032 battery, it promises a battery life of about a year too, with IP53 water resistance meaning it’ll deal with a splash or two along the way.
Besides being the tag to attach to your easily misplaced bag or keychain, you can also use the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus to deal with much of your smart home. It’s possible to use the button on it to switch on your Philips Hue lamps, for instance, which we found very convenient.
Arguably, we ended up using this facility more often than tracking down misplaced phones or other items. You’ll need to use the SmartThings app for setting things up, but it’s reasonably intuitive and offers well thought out features such as being able to encrypt your phone’s offline location.
That’s what works so well for the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus - simplicity. It’s really not complicated at all while still being quite practical. It’s the kind of thing you could give to a tech novice and they’d still be able to set it up within a few minutes. Most of the setup simply requires downloading the SmartThings app and creating an account, with the actual time with the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus itself being fairly limited.
Of course, only working with Samsung Galaxy phones is a big limitation, but one that’s somewhat logical given how many manufacturers are focusing on tying people into their respective ecosystems. If you already own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, it simply makes sense to stick with the name here. Just give it a swerve if you’re committed to a different brand.
The Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Plus is a cheap way of tracking anything you want to attach it to. That’s providing you have a Samsung Galaxy phone already and want to embrace the ecosystem.
Jennifer Allen