Tile’s new AirTag competitors now double as panic buttons


Tile, one of the leading makers of Bluetooth item finders, has just added a twist — its newest trackers can now send SOS alerts that notify friends, family, and possibly even emergency services.
The 2024 Tile Pro, Tile Mate, Tile Slim, and Tile Sticker are the first new products since Life360 bought the company nearly three years ago, and many facets are unchanged: they should each ring slightly louder and have slightly better water resistance, but the credit card, key fob, and sticker configurations are all roughly the same size and weight. There’s no mention of UWB signals for precision tracking, unlike Apple’s AirTags and Samsung’s SmartTag 2. The Tile Pro is once again the only model that offers a user-replaceable battery.
All but the Tile Sticker now offers an extra 100 feet of quoted Bluetooth range, though, at 350 feet for the Tile and Mate and a full 500 feet for the Pro, and that better connectivity could come in handy if you’re triggering the new emergency alerts.
Tiles could already ring your phone if you double-tap the button; now, a triple tap can optionally send an “SOS Alert” instead. It’ll start a discreet 15-second countdown, after which it’ll send text messages and push notifications to your emergency contacts and even contact Tile’s emergency dispatch center — if you pay for the company’s $14.99 a month Life360 Gold subscription.
The SOS Alerts are a preexisting feature of Life360’s app that you’re basically just remotely triggering over Bluetooth with the Tile’s button instead, so you’ve got to pair your phone with the app and keep it nearby if you want it to work.
It’s also not clear if Life360 will automatically send an ambulance or have a dispatcher call you first, as the company’s website contradicts itself on that point. Tile spokesperson Kelley Garnier says the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis, but either way, a Life360 dispatcher should act immediately.
Tile, one of the leading makers of Bluetooth item finders, has just added a twist — its newest trackers can now send SOS alerts that notify friends, family, and possibly even emergency services. The 2024 Tile Pro, Tile Mate, Tile Slim, and Tile Sticker are the first new products since…
Recent Posts
- The iOS 18.4 beta brings Matter robot vacuum support
- Philips Monitors is now offering a whopping 5-year warranty on some of its displays, including a gorgeous KVM-enabled business monitor
- The secretive X-37B space plane snapped this picture of Earth from orbit
- Beyond 100TB, here’s how Western Digital is betting on heat dot magnetic recording to reach the storage skies
- The end of an era? TSMC, Broadcom could tear apart Intel’s legendary business after 57 years by separating its foundry and chip design
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010