-
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2
The refined successor
The SmartTag 2 is Samsung’s second go at making a Bluetooth tracker, and there are some welcome improvements over the original. It has longer battery life, a UWB chip that used to be exclusive to a plus model, better water resistance, and a slimmer design.
Pros- Slimmer design
- Improved battery life
- Ultra-wideband support
-
Samsung Smart Tag
The solid first-gen
The original Galaxy SmartTag came out in 2021 and offered an alternative to the popular Tile trackers that came with tight integration with Samsung’s SmartThings ecosystem.
Cons- Worse battery life
- Bigger
- Lower IP rating
A few months before Apple released the Airtag, Samsung entered the Bluetooth tracker market with the Galaxy SmartTag. It had a robust feature set overall but lacked Ultra-wideband (UWB) support unless you paid extra for the SmartTag+, and the battery life wasn’t fantastic. Now, Samsung has refreshed the device with the SmartTag 2 with a plethora of improvements. But has Samsung improved it enough to warrant upgrading?
Price, availability, and specs
The SmartTag 2 is available worldwide and from all major retailers for $30. The original SmartTag was also $30 at launch, but it’s no longer available in most places, and for some reason, the retailers that still stock them have bumped up the price.
Specs are pretty similar between both of them, with a few key improvements listed below:
-
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 Samsung Smart Tag Brand Samsung Samsung Connectivity Bluetooth LE, Ultra Wideband Bluetooth LE Battery Up to 700 days Up to 300 days Range 120m 120M Water Resistance IP67 IP53
Design, build, and battery life
The SmartTag 2 has had a significant redesign over the original. It’s thinner and narrower and just a little bit taller. Rather than a square with rounded edges, it looks a lot like the pull tab on a can of Coke. The hole for attaching it to things is significantly larger, addressing a major complaint with the original. The original could only fit a key ring at best, whereas the slot on the second generation is large enough to fit a carabiner.
The larger size of the original seemed to lead to a lot of empty space inside, and as a result, it felt quite creaky and cheap, an issue the new one doesn’t suffer from. The SmartTag 2 also gets bumped up to IP67, which will be more durable than the IP53 SmartTag.
Despite the size reduction, battery life is far better on the SmartTag 2. They both use the same kind of replaceable battery, but while the original would last 300 days before the batteries needed to be replaced, the SmartTag 2 can last 700 days. What’s even more impressive is that this battery improvement is possible despite the fact it has UWB support. The original SmartTag lacked this, and you had to buy a Plus model with even worse battery life if you wanted it.
Features
The original SmartTag was quite rudimentary in terms of features. You had to rely on a Bluetooth connection to be able to track it, and the only way to locate it was by activating its speaker. However, the SmartTag 2 has a UWB chip, so if you have a Samsung phone with one, your phone will be able to detect the tag location and point you in the right direction, even indicating distance. This is a far better experience than the original.
Both devices update their location the same way, but here is the main issue with them: Only Samsung devices with SmartThings enabled work with these tags. This means a compatible Samsung device will need to be near the tag for it to report the location. So, if someone stole your item and the only devices near it were iPhones and non-Samsung Android devices, you’d be stuck and unable to track it.
Should you upgrade?
It depends on whether the UWB chip will make much of a difference to you. If you’re happy with the current detection mechanism, there isn’t much reason to swap them out. If you’re buying a new tracker, then there is absolutely no reason to buy the original. It’s hard to find now that it’s been discontinued, and the SmartTag 2 is better in every way at a cheaper price.
Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2
The refined successor
Better battery life and included UWB
The SmartTag 2 is Samsung’s second go at making a Bluetooth tracker, and there are some welcome improvements over the original. It has longer battery life, a UWB chip that used to be exclusive to a plus model, better water resistance, and a slimmer design.
If you can find the original in stock somewhere, and it’s on sale, go for it. Otherwise, there’s no reason to get one.
Samsung Smart Tag
The solid first-gen
Bulkier design and lack of UWB
The original Galaxy SmartTag came out in 2021 and offered an alternative to the popular Tile trackers that came with tight integration with Samsung’s SmartThings ecosystem.
