Tile’s new AirTag competitors now double as panic buttons

Tile, one of the leading makers of Bluetooth item finders, has just added a twist — its newest trackers can now send SOS alerts that notify friends, family, and possibly even emergency services.

The 2024 Tile Pro, Tile Mate, Tile Slim, and Tile Sticker are the first new products since Life360 bought the company nearly three years ago, and many facets are unchanged: they should each ring slightly louder and have slightly better water resistance, but the credit card, key fob, and sticker configurations are all roughly the same size and weight. There’s no mention of UWB signals for precision tracking, unlike Apple’s AirTags and Samsung’s SmartTag 2. The Tile Pro is once again the only model that offers a user-replaceable battery.

All but the Tile Sticker now offers an extra 100 feet of quoted Bluetooth range, though, at 350 feet for the Tile and Mate and a full 500 feet for the Pro, and that better connectivity could come in handy if you’re triggering the new emergency alerts.

Tiles could already ring your phone if you double-tap the button; now, a triple tap can optionally send an “SOS Alert” instead. It’ll start a discreet 15-second countdown, after which it’ll send text messages and push notifications to your emergency contacts and even contact Tile’s emergency dispatch center — if you pay for the company’s $14.99 a month Life360 Gold subscription.

The SOS Alerts are a preexisting feature of Life360’s app that you’re basically just remotely triggering over Bluetooth with the Tile’s button instead, so you’ve got to pair your phone with the app and keep it nearby if you want it to work.

It’s also not clear if Life360 will automatically send an ambulance or have a dispatcher call you first, as the company’s website contradicts itself on that point. Tile spokesperson Kelley Garnier says it differs on a case-by-case basis, but either way, a Life360 dispatcher should act immediately.

Life360 reported a data breach earlier this year, where a hacker stole some Tile customer data.