Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Apple announced its second-generation AirTag this week, with promises of improved range, a louder ringer, more security, and the same design and form factor as the original tag. The chief feature, though, is the new U1 UWB chip that is said to improve precision finding and propel the AirTag (2nd gen) far ahead of most of its competitors, many of which still don’t even have a UWB chip.
However, in true Apple fashion, there are still lots of missing and potentially old-school features in the new tag, including the lack of cross-platform compatibility (because Apple, duh). This leaves the field of Bluetooth tracker competitors very much alive and blooming, and since I’ve been testing many of these trackers for the last 18 months, I’ll let you in on a secret: There are better trackers out there that work both on Android and iOS, and you should buy them instead.
What do you think of the new Apple AirTag (2nd gen)? 3 votes Great, I just bought one/many. 33 % Seems good, but I wish it worked on Android. 0 % I'm happy with my Android-compatible trackers. 67 % I don't care about Bluetooth trackers. 0 %
Chipolo LOOP ($39)
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
While it is more expensive than the Apple AirTag (2nd gen), the Chipolo LOOP is one of the two trackers I would go buy right now, no questions asked. For starters, it’s compatible with both Google Find Hub and Apple Find My (you can only use one at a time and have to reset the tracker to switch networks), and provides ease of mind in case you decide to switch phones or give it to a family member who uses another mobile OS. It also comes with a built-in loop, so you don’t need to buy any extra accessories to attach it to a keyring.
More importantly, though, it charges over USB-C, and as someone who never has enough CR2032 batteries and hates rummaging for them last-minute, I love that I can just plug it into my phone charger to keep it topped off. The battery lasts around six months between charges.
The LOOP offers a slew of interesting extra features, all accessible from the Chipolo Android or iOS apps (on top of what you find in Google’s or Apple’s apps). You can ring your phone from it if you lose it, get notification alerts if you leave your phone behind, use it as a camera shutter remote, and choose different ringtones and ringing volumes. Oh, and it’s very, very, very loud.
There’s no Ultrawide Band here, but the LOOP already packs Bluetooth 6.0 with Channel Sounding, and since Android already supports Channel Sounding, I’m hoping Google will introduce it to the Find Hub API so Bluetooth 6.0 trackers like the LOOP can use it even if they don’t pack in UWB.
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