Google working on Apple’s AirTag like tracker: Report

In the world of smartphone ecosystems, Apple’s devices and accessories are often compared with that of Google and Samsung. The three companies offer premium smartphones along with accessories such as truly wireless (TWS) earbuds and smartwatches. But there is one thing that not all of these companies offer — trackers. Apple has AirTags and Samsung has Galaxy SmartTag. Google, so far, has none. But that might change soon as the company is reportedly working on an AirTag-like tracker.

As per a report by the tipster Kuba Wojciechowsk, Google is working on a smart-tracker codenamed ‘grogu’ that is similar to Apple’s AirTag. The tipster says that ‘Grogu’, also called ‘groguaudio or ‘GR10″ is currently in development by the company’s Nest team and that it has a speaker on-board that is similar to the AirTag. This speaker will most likely be used for beaming the beeping sound that will help in locating the tracker when it is close by.

Google is working on a smart tracker similar to Apple’s AirTag, codename “grogu” – report 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/8K6KO7tfzj

— Kuba Wojciechowski⚡ (@Za_Raczke) January 16, 2023

Furthermore, the tipster says that Google’s tracker will be available in multiple colour variants and that it will feature support for both Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) and Bluetooth Low Energy BLE) both. This report corroborates with another report by Esper founder Mishaal Rahman who spotted a ‘locator tag’ as a ‘device type’ in Fast Pair’s code. “‘Locator tag’ likely refers to Bluetooth trackers (think AirTag, Tile) that in this context support Google Fast Pair,” Rahman wrote in his tweet.

The Fast Pair developer console added “Locator tag” as a device type👀

“Locator tag” likely refers to Bluetooth trackers (think AirTag, Tile) that in this context support Google Fast Pair.

H/T @Za_Raczke pic.twitter.com/HoPX8JMd8Q

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) January 16, 2023

If these reports are true, having both UWB and BLE will give an edge to Google’s tracker as UWB will make tracking incredibly precise, compared to Bluetooth technology. This, in turn, will enable users to track the tracker accurately. Wojciechowsk says that it will also feature support for showing directions to the tag or any other UWB-enabled device. On the other hand, availability of BLE means that Google’s tracker will not be dependent on a ‘Finder Network’, which makes it flexible to use.

As far as availability is concerned, the tipster says that Google is expected to announce its ‘Grogu’ tracker at its annual developer conference, Google I/O 2023, that will be held in May this year and make it available later this year when it launches its next-gen Pixel devices.