Samsung Galaxy SmartTag+ uses augmented reality to show you where you lost your keys. In January Samsung took advantage of the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S21 to make its debut in the field of location tags with the Galaxy SmartTag, available in two versions and sizes: The SmartTag in plain English, smaller and with Bluetooth BLE, and the SmartTag+, also with UWB. Samsung has now announced the official launch of this second version, highlighting some of its features.
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag+ uses augmented reality
The Galaxy SmartTag and SmartTag+ fulfill the same objective of allowing you to find objects with the invaluable help of Samsung SmartThings, but the “plus” version includes that, a plus, by having UWB connectivity and, therefore, being able to locate objects with much more precision. This additional precision also allows you to use augmented reality to find where your SmartTag+ is using the mobile camera.
Follow the arrow to find your keys
While we already knew about Samsung’s location tags since the presentation of the Samsung Galaxy S21, until now only the lower version, the Galaxy SmartTag, had gone on sale. Samsung has announced that the top version, the Galaxy SmartTag+, will go on sale from April 16, although without specifying in which markets exactly.
The SmartTag+ differs from the SmartTag+ in three basic ways: It is larger, it is available in fewer colors – gray and black – and it has UWB or ultra-wideband connectivity. Thanks to UWB and in conjunction with a Samsung Galaxy that also has UWB (i.e., a Galaxy S21+ or S21 Ultra), it has much better accuracy in locating objects.
This added accuracy comes with a new way to find objects in Samsung’s SmartThings app. In addition to seeing the approximate location on the map and being able to beep it to reveal your position, an augmented reality location is added, which uses your phone’s camera to guide you to your SmartTag+.
It works in a similar way to the augmented reality mode of Google Maps, showing you with arrows the direction in which the SmartTag+ is located and being able to make it sound by pressing a button when you are near it.
That is if you are within range of about 120 meters away. Outside of it, it behaves just like the standard SmartTag, being able to take advantage of SmartThings’ offline location technology, which uses Bluetooth BLE to reveal its location with the help of other SmartThings users who have joined the offline program and are within range.
