Google’s $29.99 Pixel Tag Launches as an Android AirTag Rival

By Daniel Okafor

Google’s $29.99 Pixel Tag goes on sale Tuesday for Android 9 and newer, with a $99.99 four-pack, as an AirTag rival. Google first announced the tracker in August.

Google designed the device to track keys, wallets and bags through the smartphone’s built-in Find Hub. Google says Bluetooth and ultra-wideband connectivity provide visual distance and directional guidance, including for Pixel Watch wearers.

What can the tag do when an item is nearby?

Google built a speaker into the Pixel Tag to play a chime when a missing item is nearby. Google’s Find Hub offers three loudness levels, with maximum volume around 80 decibels.

Unlike Apple’s AirTag, Google gave the Pixel Tag a physical button that makes its purpose more obvious. Google lets users press the button twice to ring a lost phone.

How does the Pixel Tag compare with the AirTag?

Google made the Pixel Tag slimmer and more elongated than Apple’s small, round AirTag. Google’s Pixel Tag measures 1.1 inches wide and 1.8 inches from top to bottom.

Apple’s AirTag measures 1.26 inches wide. Apple calls its 0.31-inch thickness its height, compared with the Pixel Tag’s 0.2-inch depth.

Google’s Pixel Tag weighs 0.4 ounces, including its battery. Google says the slimmer profile may appeal to owners attaching it to small items such as keychains.

How does Google find a tag out of range?

Google omitted NFC from the Pixel Tag. Apple uses NFC on the AirTag so a person who finds a lost item can tap the device and open a webpage with the owner’s contact information.

Because Google omitted NFC, a finder cannot tap the Pixel Tag in the same way. Google instead relies on its crowdsourced network of more than a billion Android devices worldwide.

Google describes the network as similar to competing services from Apple and Tile. Within Google’s network, other Android devices identify a lost Pixel Tag and share its location with the owner through their connectivity.

Google displays that location on a map in the Find Hub app. Google’s map supplies the item’s position, while the Lost workflow supplies the owner’s contact details if someone physically retrieves the tag.

What happens in “Lost” mode?

Google calls the status “Lost.” A Pixel Tag in that mode can share the owner’s email address, phone number and a short message with the person who finds it.

When the Pixel Tag comes back within range of the owner’s phone, Google automatically marks the item as found. The contact flow differs from Apple’s NFC workflow: the finder receives the owner’s details without tapping the tag.

Google also lets users share a Pixel Tag’s location with up to 10 people in Find Hub. Family car keys illustrate the use case, because several household members might rely on the same item.

What are the hardware and commercial terms?

Google uses stainless steel for the Pixel Tag’s casing. Google rates the device IP67 for water and dust resistance, to a maximum depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes.

Like Apple’s AirTag, Google equipped the Pixel Tag with a user-replaceable CR2032 coin-cell battery. Google claims the device has “up to one year of battery life to start” and presents the replaceable cell as support for long-term use.

Google’s Pixel Tag pairs with devices running Android 9 or newer through Fast Pair technology. Google sells the tracker in silver and pale green, either individually for $29.99 or in a four-pack for $99.99.

Bellroy is also debuting keychain cases in a variety of colors and styles. Those Bellroy cases will also be sold through the Google Store alongside the Pixel Tag.

Can Google’s scale offset the missing NFC?

Google’s strongest offer is access to a network spanning more than a billion Android devices. Its clearest trade-off is the tap-to-contact workflow that Google left out of a tracker priced below $30.

Tuesday’s launch will test whether Android users value that scale, the speaker and the replaceable battery enough to accept a different contact process from AirTag. The result will hinge on whether the local and network tools return precise locations for keys, wallets and bags.