Stephen Schenck / Android Authority
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TL;DR
- Previous Samsung SmartTag trackers have solely supported monitoring by Samsung Galaxy telephones.
- The just-announced SmartTag 3 formally prolonged that help to iOS units.
- Samsung now clarifies that different Android fashions are getting entry, as properly.
Samsung simply acquired completed introducing its new tablets final week, saying the Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and Extremely. And whereas these had been assuredly the celebrities of the corporate’s launch occasion, we additionally acquired to satisfy them alongside the newest era of a well-recognized Samsung accent — its SmartTag 3. We had been already excited concerning the a lot broader system help we’re getting this time round, and now Samsung is clarifying precisely how expansive that actually is.
Traditionally, Samsung’s trackers have been a bit restricted when it comes to their system help. Whilst you might slap a SmartTag on something you needed to trace, the SmartTag2, for instance, labored with “Galaxy S24, Galaxy S25, Galaxy S26, Galaxy Z Fold, Galaxy Z Flip, and Galaxy A sequence smartphones operating the newest model of the SmartThings app.” If you happen to had a special cellphone, you had been formally out of luck.
With the brand new SmartTag 3, nevertheless, Samsung’s been making an enormous deal about wider accessibility, saying the arrival of iPhone help. And that’s nice — however what about different Androids? It was straightforward to deduce that Samsung’s expanded entry would even be felt on the Android facet of the fence, however we didn’t have formal affirmation from the corporate’s announcement.
Though US SmartTag 3 gross sales gained’t start till early subsequent yr, availability in South Korea will get began this week. Samsung’s product web page for the area does seem to mirror basic Android help for units operating Android 12 and later (translated):
Nonetheless not satisfied? Android Police reached out to Samsung for affirmation, and was informed outright:
Sure, SmartTag3 is suitable with different Android units which have entry to the Google Play Retailer to obtain the SmartThings and Samsung Discover app.
That mentioned, help for some particular SmartTag 3 options continues to be restricted. Samsung notes:
Compass View is obtainable on Galaxy units operating Android 12 or larger that help Extremely-Wideband (UWB) or Bluetooth Channel Sounding.
Bluetooth Channel Sounding is presently supported solely on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Extremely, Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy S26 Extremely, and Galaxy S26+, with further supported units anticipated sooner or later.
Nonetheless, the state of affairs now’s trying a complete lot higher than it has in years previous. Once we’re desperately looking for one thing we misplaced, we’d not at all times have the ability to depend on getting access to a Samsung cellphone close by. By extending entry throughout each Android and iOS, Samsung is taking an enormous step in the direction of bettering its tracker’s usefulness.
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