Google Creates a Location Tracking Tag Device, Ready to Compete with Apple AirTag

Google is reportedly working on its own location tracking tag. (PHOTO: DOK. UNSPLASH)

JAKARTA - Google is reportedly working on its own location-tracking tag to compete with Apple AirTags and Samsung, according to a developer and reliable Cuban leaker Wojciechowski.

Wojciechowski found references indicating Google was working on support for location tracking tags in Fast Pair, Google's new method for quickly pairing nearby Bluetooth devices.

He also claims in a Twitter thread, that Google is developing its own first-party tracker to use with the feature

The product code name for the location tracking tag is Grogu, Groguaudio or GR10, a name inspired by the baby Yoda character in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

Grogu is claimed to be equipped with onboard speakers, and is equipped with support for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth Low Energy, technologies used for radio-based communication in short-range usage scenarios.

The built-in speaker is useful for helping users find lost devices by sound, similar to ‌AirTags‌.

Wojciechowski believes the tracking device will be released in a variety of color options. The product is currently being developed by the Nest team, but that doesn't mean it will be a Nest product.

Like ‌AirTags‌, iPhone 11 and later models, Google smartphones, the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro both support UWB, and Wojciechowski claims the tracker can support wireless protocols in addition to Bluetooth Low Energy to give users precise directions to lost tags.

Furthermore, it is claimed that Google will also announce a tracking tag alongside the new Pixel phones at the I/O Developer Conference in May, as quoted from MacRumors, Wednesday, January 18.

Likely, Grogu will offer more functionality on Android than what ‌AirTags‌ is capable of providing.

AirTags‌ require an Apple device, and although Apple has a Tracker Detect app on the Google Play Store, where Android users can scan ‌AirTags‌ and other Find My enabled items that have been separated from their owner, the app is basically designed to allay fears of ‌‌AirTags‌‌ being used badly for track individual locations.