Amazon is teaming up with Tile to take on Apply AirTags together. The collaboration of this partnership was announced by May 7 in a post that mentioned Amazon Sidewalk integration to Tile’s trackers.
According to Amazon, Sidewalk uses a combination of “Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the 900 MHz spectrum, and other frequencies” to allow devices to communicate without Wi-Fi. Devices that support Sidewalk — including a variety of Echo and Ring gadgets — can serve as “Sidewalk Bridges” that work together as access points to the Sidewalk network (think of them almost like individual points on a neighborhood-wide mesh router system). With Tile coming on board along with the Amazon Echo and Amazon Ring, this expands Tile’s network coverage area that will help users track these key finders better. Basically, this integration makes trackers for lost items and the smart lock maker Level in hopes of using this technology to enhance network tracking based on WiFi and Bluetooth.
Both the companies are supposed to start their journey together on June 14th, allowing Amazon’s Echo devices to strengthen Tile’s network.
When Tile will join Sidewalk, its trackers will be then able to found using Amazon’s network in conjunction with Tile’s existing Bluetooth network, making it even easier to find your missing devices. Additionally, Tile is expanding support for Amazon’s Echo smart speakers by allowing users to see the Echo device to which the missing tag is closest. It’s not quite on the level of the hyper-localized tracking of an ultra-wideband network, though.
Last year, Tile had spoken against Apple’s ventures into lost-item tracking and had also accused the company of tweaking its operating systems by changing default settings and turning off the “always allow” default — which disables third-party tracking tools — while setting its own FindMY app to default to “on.” Apple has denied these allegations.
The news also comes as Apple launches its own AirTag trackers, a direct competitor to Tiles. Apple’s trackers rely on a mixture of the company’s Find My network — which leverages the Bluetooth capabilities of iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices — and its ultra-wideband radio technology to help locate missing tracking tags.