Whether you like it or not, whenever Apple does something, it is followed by its rivals. Google, one of Apple's competitors, is said to be working on its own version of object tracker, similar to what Samsung did with the Galaxy SmartTag lineup. As per Android expert Mishaal Rahman, Google's tracker would use the Fast Pair feature and will be recognized as a ‘locator tag.'
According to developer and leaker, Kuba Wojciechowski, Google's smart tracker is codenamed ‘grogu.' Wireless trackers are nothing new, and companies like Samsung and Tile have been making them for quite some time. These trackers are quite helpful, as they can be attached to products that can get misplaced or have a chance of getting lost.
Google's smart tracker will reportedly be built by the Nest team
Recently, people have started putting Apple AirTags inside their luggage bags to keep a track of them at the airport. Apparently, Google's smart tracker, codenamed ‘grogu,' will work on a distributed tracking network, which is similar to that of Apple AirTag and Samsung's SmartTag. Google may rebrand the distributed tracking network as the ‘Finder Network.'
Google's smart tracker will work with both Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. The device will be built by Google's Nest team. There will be a small internal speaker for sounding alerts, and it will be launched in various colors. While these are the only info available about the hardware, chances are the launch plans for Google's smart tracker could coincide with the Pixel 8, which would be at Google I/O 2023.
But only time will tell if that is the case. And there shouldn't be any issues if Google takes its sweet time to launch the product since there were privacy concerns with the Apple AirTags, and Google may not want its smart tracker to be a privacy nightmare for the users.
