One of the biggest draw cards for Apple's AirTag is that it crowdsources location information from millions of iPhones circulating around the globe. Imagine if Google had struck a deal with Tile to include an API of theirs inside all Android phones to achieve something similar... It would have been massive as there are even more Android phones circulating (except that for quite a while it is only the last 2 to 3 year old Android phones that would get the update). This would have leveraged both the power and reach of Google and Tile to have quickly neutralised Apple's advantage.
But it was not to be... the Tiles API that got me so excited is in fact an API for the widgets (Tiles) found on Wear OS watches...
One would assume though that Google should do such a deal with Tile. For now users will have to rejoice in a slightly improved Wear OS, and the loss of the long battery life Samsung Tizen OS. The reason Tizen OS had such good battery life and features, was that it was not held back by Wear OS, so I look forward to seeing the comparative reviews in the next while.
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trackingWe're driven by the impact of wearables on people's lives. Today, we’re sharing the next chapter of Wear with updates later this year.