According to reports, Tile, which has dominated the Bluetooth tracker market for many years, was acquired by the home location sharing service Life360 for US$205 million.

The acquisition comes at a time when Tile is facing increasing competition from some of the largest technology companies such as Apple, Samsung, Amazon and Google.

These alternatives, led by Apple's AirTag, are attributed to Tile, which has a relatively modest origin and stems from the successful crowdfunding campaign in 2013. Within a few years, Tile's small Bluetooth tracking device was sold by major retailers as a way to protect valuables, track pets, and prevent forgetful people from wasting time searching for lost items.

Over the years, Tile has expanded its tracking product line and launched a $30-a-year subscription service called Tile Premium, which provides users with advanced features such as battery replacement and smart alarms. In addition to standalone trackers, Tile has integrated its technology into more than 1 million third-party devices, from mobile phones and laptops to dog collars.

Although Tile has achieved great success over the years, the increasingly fierce competition from technology giants such as Apple and Samsung has shaken the field. Samsung first appeared on the scene with its Galaxy SmartTag, but it was Apple and its $29 AirTag that let people track it. AirTags uses Bluetooth tracking similar to Tile, but adds more precise location services by using the iPhone's ultra-wideband chip.

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Another advantage of Apple over competitors is the huge Find My network. When one of the nearly 1 billion devices connected to Find My approaches a misplaced AirTag, the service forwards its last address to the corresponding AirTag owner. Tile relies on a similar network, but its 35 million or so users pales in comparison to the 1 billion people who helped track the lost AirTag.

Although the location information sent to AirTag owners is anonymous and encrypted, these tiny tracking devices put Apple in a dilemma and may allow abusers to track others without their consent. There are some measures to prevent unnecessary tracking, but in our tests, we found that when tags slip into bags, pockets or cars unknowingly, they are not enough to alert users.

Life360, Tile's buyer, is a family safety app with a subscription service that allows family members to track each other's movements and add collision detection, online privacy monitoring, and emergency assistance. According to the company, Life360, created after Hurricane Katrina, is used by 31 million people.

By purchasing Tile, Life360 will welcome new subscribers and increase its total payment base to 1.6 million. Tile is not alone in helping Life360 develop; the company started its buying frenzy by purchasing Jiobit, which produces cellular trackers for pets and children. Life360 is acquiring brands to expand into more categories so that people can use its services to track or find anything.

People can't help but wonder the impact of Apple's launch of its popular AirTag tracker earlier this year. Although Apple has planted a flag in the former Tile territory, Life360 welcomes competition. Chris Hulls, the co-founder and CEO of Life360, immediately acknowledged the elephant in the room and wrote in a blog post, "...We believe that the launch of Apple AirTags is a turning point, you care about All devices will become positioning-supporting."

He continued to compare the appearance of AirTags with the release of AirPods, which popularized true wireless earplugs a few years after the first products came out.

"Based on our own experience in creating the location sharing category (we are the first location sharing app on the market), we have seen how the launch of Find My Friends made our category mainstream-after Apple entered our field, we The growth rate has reached triple digits," Hulse wrote.

The acquisition of Tile is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022. Tile will continue to operate independently under the same team and the same brand.

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