Apple AirTags – 48x more effective than Tile?

Apple AirTags are 31 mm round devices (like a button battery). AirTags are similar to a well-established product known as Tile. Tiles come in four different sizes.

Enjoy a quick Tiles-to-AirTags comparison:
Tile medallion – 27 mm round – $15 (in packs of 4)
Tile key fob – 35 mm square – $17.50 (in packs of 4)
Tile credit card – 2.4 mm thick – $27 (in packs of 2)
Tile key fob Pro – 42 mm square – $24.75 (in packs of 4)(not available as a single device)

Apple AirTag – 31.9 mm round – $24.75 (in packs of 4)(or $29.99/1)

NOTE: AirTags have no obvious way to attach them to things. Get double-sided tape? Buy specially made AirTag key-ring-loops (cheapest price: $12.95)?

Is the true value in the user-network?

At first glance, you may think Apple is just an expensive competitor to Tile. But there may be more to it.

These products work by broadcasting their signals to every device in their product network. If an “in-network” device is nearby, the Tile/AirTag can tell the world it is lost. Without an “in-network” device, then the Tile/AirTag is just a little piece of expensive junk.

It stands to reason: the larger the network, the more likely your Tile/AirTag will be found.

How big are we talking?

Tile’s network is every device that has the Tile app installed on it (which appears limited to mobile devices). Apple’s network is “hundreds of millions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.”

Tile – 26 million users (estimated around April 7, 2021)

Apple – 1,260 million users (1.26 billion) (consisting of 900 million iPhones and perhaps 360 million iPads, Macs, and MacBooks (estimated around January 2019))

Yes – that’s billion, with a B. And yes, these are active user numbers, not total products sold. So what does this mean?

Apple’s network is 48 times larger than Tile’s

Does this mean an AirTag is 48 times more effective than a Tile?

Who knows.

Tile claims 90% of lost Tiles are found. This means 1 out of every 10 Tile products are never recovered.

Perhaps adding 48 times more users will help AirTags recover at a higher rate?

Perhaps there is also a bias towards certain markets? Tile did sue Apple in the EU, suggesting Tile has some presence outside of the US. Finding more comprehensive data on Tile is challenging. For Apple, there are apparently 113.5 million iPhone users in the US. Given the data above, this means 87% (or 783 million) of iPhones operate outside of the US (the math: 1-(113.5/900)=.87).

Note also: all of these products have a limited transmission range. Tile’s can transmit from 150 ft (for the medallion) to 400 ft (for the key fob Pro). Apple has not disclosed the AirTag’s range, but bluetooth can transmit up to 800 ft with direct line of sight. I would guess that the AirTags would transmit at least as far as the Tile key fob Pro, but I’ve been wrong before.

That’s it! Hopefully you can better draw your own conclusions with this information.