Tile fights back against AirTag with Amazon Sidewalk support, greatly expands its Tile Network in the process

If there is one company that won’t have been thrilled with the launch of Apple’s AirTag it will be Tile. The company was first to market with its solution several years and had the market to itself, but the launch of the AirTag puts the small company up against the biggest company in this history of consumer technology. It also puts it up against a very large network of iPhone users.

Like Apple’s AirTag, the Tile works over Bluetooth and also via an anonymous Bluetooth network of other Tile users on both iPhones and Android devices. Apple, of course, has hundreds of millions of iPhones in the wild with users also numbering in the tens of millions who like to buy just about any new Apple product that hits the market. While Tile has a strong following, Apple’s ability to popularize a product category is second to none and there is little doubt Tile will need to leverage all of its partnerships to keep its market niche intact.

To help bolster its Tile Network, Tile and Amazon announced a partnership last year that will see Tiles work with Amazon’s new Sidewalk project that will start to see the installation of a Bluetooth network around the streets of various towns across the US. This should dramatically improve the accuracy and reliability of its Title range of products which comprise the Pro, Mate, Slim and Sticker. Today’s fresh announcement will see the service go live on June 14, but only time will tell if better coverage will help it keep its existing iOS customers and pick up new ones.

Buy the Tile Mate currently on special for US$20 from Amazon.