Which is more suitable for you?

• 

  Tile Sticker

  Sticky savior

  As the name suggests, the Tile Sticker smart tag is meant to be stuck to items you want to track, like a TV remote. It packs most of what you get with other Tile trackers, like Bluetooth capability and a long-lasting battery.

  Pros

  • Compact design
  • Platform-agnostic
  • Built-in adhesive pad

• 

  Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2

  Tracker with a cutout

  $27 $30 Save $3

  The Galaxy SmartTag 2 is a general-purpose smart tracker from Samsung exclusive to the company’s mobile devices. It uses Bluetooth LE and ultra-wideband (UWB) for close-range tracking.

  Pros

  • Built-in cutout
  • User-replaceable battery
  • Can work as a smart home remote

  Cons

  • Limited to Samsung devices

Tile has an excellent smart tag selection to choose from. While some feature a key ring cutout, others cater to niche use cases. The Tile Sticker is one such specialized smart tracker that lacks a cutout for attachments but boasts an adhesive back. Its unique form factor has some advantages, but you must also deal with some drawbacks, like a non-replaceable battery. You can avoid these drawbacks by going with Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag 2, which has a user-replaceable battery and a big cutout to attach it to your belongings. But, like any other smart tracker, the Samsung offering isn’t ideal for everyone.

So, are you better off with the unique Tile Sticker, or should you opt for a more traditional Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2? Let’s dive deeper and find out.

Price, availability, and specifications

The Tile Sticker and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 have the same price tag of $29.99 for a single unit. But if you need more than one tracker, you can save a few bucks by choosing a multipack. It’s also common for both smart tags to get attractive discounts during sales and promotions.

As the Sticker and the SmartTag 2 have been around for some time, both are widely available through online and physical retailers.

Here’s a quick look at the raw specifications before we get down to the nitty-gritty.

• 	Tile Sticker	Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2
  Brand	Tile	Samsung
  Connectivity	Bluetooth LE	Bluetooth LE, Ultra Wideband, NFC
  Battery	Up to three years, non-replaceable	Up to 500 days (normal mode), up to 700 days (power saving mode)
  Range	Up to 76m (250 feet)	Up to 120m
  Water Resistance	IP68	IP67

Design, build, and battery

The Tile Sticker is a bit different from regular smart tags, which are typically designed as key chain attachments. It’s a tiny smart tracker with a built-in adhesive pad that’ll stick to an important object. It can be easily attached to a TV remote, game controller, camera, or pet collar. While it’s the smallest smart tag in Tile’s portfolio, it’s also the thickest, but not by much.

Despite being made from plastic, the Tile Sticker is well-built, and the adhesive will keep it in place wherever you stick it. The circular design is pretty streamlined, but it does include a button on the side to ping your misplaced phone. Unfortunately, there isn’t a printed QR code to provide your contact information if someone finds your lost item.

The Samsung SmartTag 2, on the other hand, has a pill-shaped design with a built-in circular key chain cutout. The cutout is reinforced with metal for enhanced durability; otherwise, it’s mostly a plastic construction. The large cutout makes it easy to attach the SmartTag 2 to your belongings, such as luggage, bikes, and more.

Unlike the Sticker, the SmartTag 2 has NFC support, which can transmit your contact details to a finder’s phone if you activate the Lost Mode. The battery is another big difference between the Tile Sticker and the Samsung SmartTag 2. The Sticker has a built-in non-replaceable battery that lasts up to three years, whereas the SmartTag 2 accepts a replaceable CR2032 coin battery with a runtime of 500 days in Normal Mode and up to 700 days in Power Saving Mode. So, the Samsung tracker will not be useless after three years.

Features

Although the Tile Sticker and the Galaxy SmartTag 2 are smart tags at their core, their features vary. For example, both smart trackers use different tag networks. The Tile tracker is backed by the company’s tag network, which consists of mobile devices featuring the Tile app install and the Amazon Sidewalk network. These two resources combine to create a sizeable network to help you find your lost valuables. The SmartTag 2 uses Samsung’s SmartThings Find network, which is made of Samsung Galaxy mobile devices.

The two trackers also have Bluetooth LE connectivity for close-range tracking and communication. While Samsung boasts a Bluetooth range of 390 feet, the Tile tracker only offers 250 feet. However, you are unlikely to see such a long range in real life, as Bluetooth range reduces when obstacles like walls and other objects are encountered. Still, the SmartTag 2 is likely to perform better, given its longer claimed range.

Besides Bluetooth and the tag network, Samsung uses UWB connectivity to provide precision tracking at close range. Sadly, UWB support is limited to select Samsung phones with this technology. You won’t get it with all Samsung devices. Samsung’s offering can also function as a smart home remote to trigger automations set in the SmartThings app. While you don’t get a similar feature on the Tile tracker, you can use the Tile offering to ping your phone, as mentioned earlier, something that you can’t do with the Samsung tracker.

Another key detail that separates the Tile Sticker and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 is subscribing to a paid plan to unlock some features. Like other Tile smart tags, you must purchase a premium plan to access the Sticker’s separation alerts. The plan also includes other benefits, such as a 30-day location history, tracker location sharing, replacement warranty, and more, but the lack of free separation alerts is a downer. You don’t need to pay subscription fees to access any of SmartTag 2’s features, including separation alerts.

Beyond all the differences, the two smart tags have a couple of common features, such as IP67 dust and water resistance and a built-in speaker.

Which is better for you?

The Tile Sticker and the Samsung SmartTag 2 are targeted at multiple customer needs, so choosing between them comes down to how you will use the tracker and which mobile device you use. If you want to keep an eye on something that can only accommodate a sticker-style tracker (like a remote), then the Tile Sticker is your best bet. It’s not perfect, but it works great for specific scenarios with its robust tag network. It’s also platform-agnostic, so the Sticker will work with Apple and Android devices.

But if you want a general-purpose Bluetooth tracker and own a Samsung phone, there is no better option than the Samsung SmartTag 2. It has Bluetooth and UWB for close-range and precision tracking, respectively. The tag’s network can help locate your valuables once they are outside of Bluetooth range. It also works seamlessly with Samsung devices but not much else.