Does Samsung Galaxy SmartTag support UWB?

Samsung SmartTags are Samsung’s answer to Tile

At Samsung Unpacked, Samsung unveiled its new SmartTags, which are small, battery-powered trackable tags similar to many other Bluetooth trackers out there. You attach them to clothes, personal items, or pet collars. You can use the Samsung SmartThings Find app to locate them.

Samsung will eventually have two different SmartTags. Regular SmartTags are available starting January 29th and cost $30. Plus, Samsung will be bundling in a SmartTag with every pre-order of the Galaxy S21 line. If you want UWB, you’ll have to wait until the SmartTag Plus comes out later this year at $40.

What are the differences?

Aside from price and availability, the key difference is in the technology used to locate them. SmartTags will use Bluetooth LE; it’s the same protocol that allows you to stream music to headphones. SmartTags Plus will use Ultrawide Band (UWB) for location. UWB uses a series of tiny pulses that can communicate with your compatible phone to determine its location within half an inch.

Over long ranges, both SmartTags will communicate with other Samsung Galaxy phones to anonymously broadcast their location. This will be done securely and automatically without a user’s intervention. Once you get within range of Bluetooth LE (for SmartTag) or UWB (for SmartTag Plus, assuming you have a compatible phone), the app will help you get closer and narrow things down. In fact, SmartTag Plus can use an AR interface to pinpoint the exact location of the tag.

Not all Samsung phones will work with UWB. Only the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra have the hardware to make UWB work. We can only assume that more hardware will come out in the future, but for now, if you want a Samsung SmartTag Plus, you’ll need a Galaxy S21.