Google’s Pixel Tag Takes Aim at AirTag With Thin Design and Find Hub Integration

Google has entered the Bluetooth tracker market with the Pixel Tag, a $30 Android accessory sold in a four-pack for $100 and available starting Wednesday, according to CNET’s hands-on. The device is Google’s attempt to give Android users a first-party alternative to Apple’s AirTag, using Google’s Find Hub network for location relay beyond Bluetooth range.

CNET notes that Android-compatible trackers already exist, including Motorola’s Moto Tag 2 and Tile, and that accessory makers are increasingly building products around both Apple’s Find My and Google’s Find Hub. Google’s move suggests it sees value in owning both the hardware and software side of this category, CNET writes.

In CNET’s early testing, the most notable hardware choice is shape. Google opted for a longer, thinner design at 46.1mm long and 5.4mm thick, rather than Apple’s small circular footprint. CNET paired its test unit with a Bellroy leather keychain and found the combination comfortable for a pocket or bag pocket, despite initially expecting the longer shape to be awkward.

The Pixel Tag uses a CR2032 coin battery that CNET says should last about a year, matching the AirTag. It carries an IP67 rating, which the source describes as durable in 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. A physical button adds tactility: one press can stop the tag’s locating chirps, while two presses can ring a paired phone. CNET describes the phone alert as a chime that grows louder and more intense.

The tag’s own alert has three volume levels. CNET measured it at 80 decibels, compared with 87 decibels for Apple’s second-generation AirTag. CNET also highlights battery-status reporting in Find Hub: when the tag reaches Low or Very Low, the app sends notifications every two weeks until the battery is replaced. CNET contrasts this with Apple’s Find My app, which it says only indicates battery condition when replacement is needed.

The headline tracking feature is Precision Finding, which combines Bluetooth 6.0 Channel Sounding with ultra-wideband chips in the tag and compatible phone. CNET says supported phones include the Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8 Fold and newer Pixel models. In testing with a Pixel 11 Pro XL, CNET’s Find Nearby feature worked from about 25 feet, including across multiple levels of a house. But CNET reports that distance estimates shifted by several feet even when both the phone and tag remained stationary, a caveat for users expecting perfectly stable readings.

CNET has not yet tested long-range tracking by sending the tag away with another person, so Find Hub network performance outside Bluetooth range remains unverified in its hands-on. The source says nearby Android devices should securely relay a detected tag’s location to Google’s servers, similar to how Apple’s Find My network operates.

Google is also addressing unwanted tracking. CNET says a Pixel Tag that is separated from its paired phone and then moved will chime, an approach similar to Apple’s. The tag also includes NFC, which displays its information when tapped by a phone.

For daily use, CNET’s early assessment points to practical strengths: the slim shape, physical button and battery-status notifications. Precision Finding appears useful but not perfectly consistent in CNET’s limited test. Android users who want a tracker made by Google and who use a compatible Pixel phone are the clearest audience. Owners of existing trackers will have to weigh those conveniences against a small first-party alternative that CNET has not yet tested over longer distances or time. That judgment is interpretation based on CNET’s hands-on, not a conclusion about long-term reliability.