Samsung Galaxy SmartTag tested — with good results
We tested the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag and found it a useful tool to locate important items you misplaced.
The SmartTag is a Bluetooth tracker that works with Samsung Galaxy devices in the area to provide an accurate location of the tag.
Its official price from Samsung is R499, but you can buy it for around R300 from third-party suppliers if you shop around.
The SmartTag can be attached to an item, making it possible to locate it using your Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
The tag has a built-in button that allows you to locate your smartphone by making it ring if you have the tag with you.
You can also use the button to activate more advanced features, such as functions in a home automation setup.
We tested the long-distance and close tracking of the Galaxy SmartTag.
When the tag is far away from your smartphone, it uses Bluetooth connections to other Galaxy smart devices to provide the approximate location.
It allows you to figure out where you may have left your item. It does not provide an exact location, but it is accurate enough to get to the correct building.
Once you get close enough to the tag, it connects to your smartphone and allows you to track it by showing the signal strength.
We tested the tracking by hiding the tag at our office overnight.
We checked the app a few times to see how the long-distance tracking performed.
Other Galaxy devices consistently picked up the tag in the office block until about 18:30, when most people had left.
Later at night, it could only show us the last position, as no nearby devices could confirm or update this position.
The tag’s position was updated again around 6:30, when people started arriving at the office.
When we got close enough to the building, we started the “Search Nearby” feature and started exploring.
After having no luck around one side of the building, we finally got a weak connection on the other side.
We kept following the signal, continuing where it got stronger and disregarding areas where the signal strength declined.
When we got to a point where we had near full signal strength, we activated the ringing option on the tag and were able to find it easily by following the sound.
While a Bluetooth tracker such as the Galaxy SmartTag may not be helpful when it comes to theft — as a thief can simply remove and discard the tag from your stolen item — it is handy if you misplace things.
The tag is small enough not to be a hindrance on a keychain or attached to a backpack, where it can be forgotten until needed.
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