![]() ![]() We had been concerned that Samsung’s network of beacon-reporting phones and tablets would be smaller than Apple’s network of iPhones, resulting in slower or even non-existent reporting of a tag’s whereabouts, but in our tests both the SmartTag2 and the AirTag performed much the same. If ever you lose your SmartTag2 and (moreover) the item it’s attached to, you just open up the SmartThings app on your Samsung phone or tablet, and call up a map showing you the location of the device that last detected the beacon. ![]() Whenever any Samsung phone or tablet detects the beacon, it reports its whereabouts, together with the beacon’s ID, back to a global database. Like the AirTag, the SmartTag2 works by frequently transmitting a wireless signal (or “beacon”) over Bluetooth and Ultra Wideband (UWB), with a unique serial number that identifies the tag. Not only is it tricky to remove the batteries from the SmartTag2, the little tag also takes bitter batteries (we’ve tested it), for double FOXO minimisation. The SmartTag2 attaches easily to most items, so, unlike the Apple AirTag, you don’t even need to buy a case for it. Yep, we’ve been testing the SmartTag2 here in the Digital Life Labs, and we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s as good as the AirTag in most respects, and better than the AirTag in some respects that matter a great deal, especially if you are or know someone who might eat button batteries. Samsung has just released its AirTag equivalent, the SmartTag2, and it’s iPhone users who now must suffer both FOMO and FOCO, which we shall just call FOXO for the sake of brevity. Still, even with the FOCO, the AirTag was and is one of the best and most useful accessories ever to grace the mobile phone ecosystem, and Samsung user FOMO has been in overdrive ever since. Perversely, it later emerged that Apple had also designed the AirTag so it refused to work with batteries coated with a bitter taste to discourage children from swallowing them, should they manage to open the AirTag and pull the battery out. The retailer Officeworks refused to stock the AirTag, complaining it was too easy for young children to open it (which it absolutely is) and swallow the battery. It’s no mere coincidence that iPhone users were struck by the FOCO the very next month. Not to scale: Samsung’s new SmartTag2 helps you find things that go missing. This FOMO reached a crescendo in April 2021, when Apple announced the AirTag, a small, silver-and-white disk that iPhone users could attach to their possessions and their pets, to aid with recovery should those things go missing. But more on the fear of choking out in a moment. This is not to be confused with FOCO, which is what many Apple users must deal with on a daily basis. As a Samsung user, the number one problem you have to deal with on a daily basis is FOMO: the fear of missing out on all the great iPhone accessories Apple users take for granted. ![]()
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