Key Takeaways
- Tile’s 2024 lineup features familiar form factors for various needs and includes useful new features.
- The new Tile collection comes in vibrant color schemes and offers an SOS feature through Life360.
- Despite no Google compatibility or UWB, Tile’s robust user network and range make it a reliable choice.
Bluetooth trackers are a valuable utility in this day and age. Misplaced keys, lost TV remotes, and even more sinister disappearances like stolen purses or bicycles are becoming more a thing of the past.
Tile was one of the first smart tag manufacturers to establish a widespread presence, and has since grown to include tens of millions of active monthly users. Tile launched its 2024 lineup of Bluetooth trackers today, noting a couple significant new features.
The 2024 Tile collection uses familiar form factors
Something for everybody
In its latest launch, Tile isn’t looking to change what isn’t broken. The brand is sticking with the tracker designs that’ve worked in the past: the classic Mate, the larger Pro, the button-sized Stick, and the credit-card-esque Slim.
This new lineup, like the 2022 series, appeals to a variety of uses. The Tile Mate and Pro utilize a corner cutout to be usable on key rings and backpack straps. The Sticker, the smallest of the group, includes an adhesive backing, ideal for unusually shaped items that you need to track, like a remote or a bicycle. And lastly, the Tile Slim is pretty much identical to an ID or credit card, which means it’ll slide easily into your wallet. You could also use this one as an unobtrusive way to track an electronic, like a laptop, by slipping it into the laptop case.
New colors give the Tile some pop
While we have to say goodbye to the 2022 Tile Mate’s fun kaleidoscopic colors — Specter, Sunflare, Greenbelt, and Prism — there are four vibrant, blocky color schemes entering the mix. For the Slim and Mate, there’s a dark navy blue with orange trim, a hunter green with light blue trim, a light blue with bright yellow trim, and — Barbie’s favorite — a pink-on-pink option.
Source: Tile
You can also, of course, get the Mate and the Pro in white or black. It looks like the Sticker will continue to be exclusively offered in black. The Slim gets a black option, too, but no white.
Life360’s acquisition of Tile lends a valuable new SOS feature
In late 2021, Life360, a family-oriented safety and location sharing platform, purchased Tile. The smart tag’s newest collection now features the Life360 logo on its multifunction button, but it’s more than just brand placement.
Source: Tile
Assuming you have or start a Life360 account when activating one of the 2024 Tiles, the trackers can now be programmed to send an SOS message and location ping to your family and emergency contacts in the event of an emergency, as well as the local authorities if using Life360’s paid subscription.
There’s no Google or Apple Find My compatibility
But Tile’s network is huge and going strong
Yes, Tile devices must still be used only on the Tile crowd-tracking network. Don’t be disheartened, though. Android Police reviewers didn’t enjoy the Google Find My experience anyway, at least not in its earliest stages, and the Tile user network is over 40 million strong, so even tracking your Tile devices outside of the Bluetooth range shouldn’t be a problem.
One feature we are sad to not see on new Tile devices in 2024 is ultra-wideband connectivity, or UWB. UWB technology in Bluetooth trackers (which is found in Apple and Samsung smart tags) helps the user find their item with heightened short-range precision, even being able to tell the user which direction to turn in when looking for the tag.
The missing feature aside, the 2024 Tile collection is the brand’s most capable lineup to date. The Mate, Sticker, and Pro now ring louder than ever, and the Pro boasts an impressive 500-foot Bluetooth range. Tile’s paid subscriptions offer even more features, like location history and real-time smart notifications when you leave home without an important bag or other Tile device.
Tile’s 2024 collection is available now wherever Tile devices are widely sold. The retail prices are as follows: $25 for the Mate, $35 for the Pro, $30 for the Slim, and $25 for the Sticker.
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Tile Mate (2024)
Back with a longer Bluetooth range and louder locator chime, the Tile Mate 2024 is a great smart tag for Android users (it’s compatible with iOS too).
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Tile Pro (2024)
The Tile Pro is stronger than ever. It features a 500-foot Bluetooth range, three-year replaceable battery, and loud chime easily heard throughout the house.