Can't see an end date. Probably just when sold out.
Some examples
https://www.tile.com/en-NZ/product/burnt-orange-mate-3-pack?…
Tile Mate 3-Pack (Merlot/Orange) & Premium $40.99, Mate 4-Pack & Premium $116.99 + More @ Tile
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This is part of Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals.
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My understanding, and someone correct me if I am wrong, tile requires the app to be installed on a device to even begin working.
Apples airtag works independently of any app installation (ie: as part of the iOs ecosystem) - so if you are looking for a passive tracker for a pet, an airtag would be a better option, as someone with an apple device just needs to walk near your dog to get a ping?Nah, Tile works the same as AirTags. Actually, AirTags copied Tile's idea and just made it more stable and reliable.
Tile can be picked up by any device around the area, as long as they also have the Tile app installed. But ideally, yes you should have the Tile app running on your phone, so that it can pick up the telemetry data from Tile Mate constantly.
The only downside to Tile is that the app drains battery. So I now have this automation running on my phone to disable the Tile app and enable it every 30 minutes and ONLY when I'm out and about. I don't need to have this running when I'm at home.
The OP wants to use tile to find lost dogs not keys in the house, to do this he has to rely on others use tile and tile app installed on the phone. In this country there's close to zero chance the dog come across someone has the tile app.
The AirTags use any iphone with bluetooth enabled and there's a much higher chance of the dog running past such person so Tile is useless in this case.
Tile is not a good product i stopped using mine a long time ago, when i was using it sometimes even my key is right next to it and tile can't find it, check on youtube, tile is not reliable.
The reliance on the app means tile has to reach significant market penetration to work as a service. It's significantly less useful if only your device can track it as no one else has the app.
Samsung smart tags and apple air tags are baked in to their phones natively so anyone nearby with a Samsung or apple phone allows the tags to dial home whether it's their tag or not, considering the massive sales numbers of those two manufacturers compared to tiles the performance will be exponentially better once the tag goes beyond the reach of your device.
@Everettpsycho: And don't forget many phones have battery saver mode on by default, automatically killing apps in the background. Anything you want to rely on crowdsource location, use the Airtag.
You may have to switch to an iPhone, but for Android diehards you can have a cheap used iPhone as a backup phone (or even an iPad/Macbook), in the car or somewhere nearby.
@Avantime: If you dont mind the wait (New release and currently sold out worldwide) try the Eufy Smart-track link. These piggyback on the apple Find My system just like aritags, but are half the price. Dunno how they wrangled that deal with Apple. Maybe they just forced their way in to their systems. Surely it's gonna impact airtag sales.
I bought a 4 park tile mate a few years ago and they don't work very well, even with background on and has access to location all the time still often don't work.
Tile was being stupid when apple offer them to join the "find my" network and they refused and took apple to court, basically destroying themselves.
In case of the dog gone missing then you will rely on others with the tile app installed on their phones and in NZ the number is extremely small, so there's no chance tile will help you find your dog. If you have an iPhone definitely go with air tags and if you have android then maybe a GPS tracker.
Not tried on pets, but I use them for normal stuff. Keys, wallet etc so I assume they would work the same. Pets are probably more likely to end up out of range, but you do of course get a "last known location" so you can start searching from there.
The advantage apple airtags and the new eufy tracker have is they work on the Apple Find My system. So everyone who has an apple product will also be looking for your pet in the background if it goes out of normal range of the tracker.
With tile the same thing happens but you are limited to others who have a tile in the area. It's not piggybacked on the Find My system. So a smaller percentage of people for sure.
I would be more tempted to go Apple of Eufy for pets. Tile is fine for stuff that you just always misplace around the home.
I owned 4 tiles before I swapped them with Airbags. The problem is that you need to subscribe to their premium plan which is NZ$54.99/yr. When I buy stuff, I do not really want to be paying a monthly fee to use them. Yes, all the basic things work but I really want everything to work off the box off the price I pay. For example, on Airtags, the notification which I get when I leave things behind(too late and too far but that's another thing), is only available on the Tile paid plan.
Thanks OP grabbed a Merlot to add to my collection.
Any thoughts on Tiles vs Airtags vs Samsungs version of this (Smart tag+ the Ultra wide band) ?
Airtags are far superior, but of course doesn't work properly on Android.
At this price, I'd say give Tiles a try.
If you can wait I'd go for eufy smart-track. (These are a new release, currently sold out world-wide) Basically it's the apple airtag but around half the price.
Be careful with the Tile Mates and the non-replaceable batteries. The older model (2020 version which I have) has a battery cover that you can remove and it's just one of those round batteries that you can buy easily from Bunnings or Countdown or whatever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNSJ3SN_wjc
The newer models (2022) don't have that battery cover. You can technically pry open the thing and just replace the battery inside and there are Youtube videos on this, but you'll need to know how to solder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af9hmRc4Zx0
Tile is just greedy and wants to force the yearly "Premium" subscription on people. By making the battery harder to replace, they can include "free battery replacement" in the Premium to entice people to purchase the subscription.
Also, looks like you can subscribe to Tile's email campaign and get 15% off your next purchase. I've just signed up and got a discount code to use at checkout. I haven't used tested this yet, but maybe it'll bring down the cost even more?
If you’ve already got tiles, and you’re looking for a cheap way to get premium for another year, the merlot/sage slim + premium is a good deal.
$34.99 incl shipping vs. $54.99 for just the subscription. Orange mate is even cheaper at $31.99 shipped.
I often misplace things, so for that price the extra features are useful. I figure I’m getting a discounted sub and an extra tracker to boot.
The slim is handy for jackets and wallets.
Also I had free premium already due to a similar offer last year. Can confirm this works on your existing account, it was applied immediately after checkout (because I was logged in).
Interestingly those free premium bundles didn’t show up on the sale page once I was logged in. I’d recommend browsing without logging in and adding to your cart, then logging in when you’re ready to check out.
Hmm starter pack + premium for 74.99 + 10 shipping, or $57.59 without premium on marketplace.
I have an airtag and a Samsung smart tag.
If you have an iphone get an airtag. They only work with iphone or ipad.
If you have a Samsung galaxy phone then get a smart tag. They only work with Samsung Galaxy phones.
Samsung is better IMO as has family sharing, has history track (rather than just last known location like on the airtag), also does not have the stupid privacy anti tracking beep that airtag has that people rip the airtag speaker out to track luggage or bike and not have it beep.
Has anyone tried the Mate on pets?
If so how did they work…