Tile’s new AirTag competitors now double as a panic button

Tile, 1 of the starring makers of Bluetooth point finders, has conscionable added a twist — its newest trackers tin now nonstop SOS alerts that notify friends, family, and perchance moreover emergency services.

The 2024 Tile Pro, Tile Mate, Tile Slim and Tile Sticker are the first caller products since Life360 bought the company astir 3 years ago, and successful galore ways they’re unchanged: they should each ringing somewhat louder and person somewhat amended h2o resistance, but the in installments card, keyfob, and sticker configurations are each astir the aforesaid size and weight. There’s nary mention of UWB signals for precision tracking, dissimilar Apple’s AirTags and Samsung’s SmartTag 2. The Tile Pro is erstwhile again the only exemplary that offers a user-replaceable battery.

All but the Sticker now connection an other 100 feet of quoted Bluetooth range, though, astatine 350 feet for the Tile and Mate and a afloat 500 feet for the Pro, and that amended connectivity could travel successful useful if you’re triggering the caller emergency alerts.

Tiles could already ringing your telephone if you double-tap their button; now, a triple-tap tin optionally nonstop an “SOS Alert” instead. It’ll commencement a discreet 15-second countdown, aft which it’ll nonstop matter messages and push notifications to your emergency contacts, and moreover interaction Tile’s emergency dispatch halfway — if you salary for the company’s $14.99-a-month Life360 Gold subscription aliases better.

The SOS Alerts are a pre-existing characteristic of Life360’s app that you’re fundamentally conscionable remotely triggering complete Bluetooth pinch the Tile’s fastener instead, truthful you’ve sewage to brace your telephone pinch the app and support it adjacent if you want it to work.

It’s besides not rather clear if Life360 will automatically nonstop emergency services aliases person a dispatcher telephone you first, arsenic the company’s website contradicts itself connected that point. Tile spokesperson Kelley Garnier says it differs connected a case-by-case basis, but either measurement a Life360 dispatcher should enactment immediately.