If you often find yourself misplacing your wallet or other valuable items around the house, then the Tile Slim ($29.99) may be worth your consideration. The Tile Slim, like the original Tile, is a Bluetooth tracker that allows you to quickly home in on items within your general vicinity.
The Tile Slim’s thinner form factor makes it much more practical for tight spaces such as wallets or portfolios. Check out our brief hands-on video inside to see how it compares to the original Tile.
To be clear, the Tile and Tile Slim both do the same thing. They both use Bluetooth LE to track items within a 100-ft maximum range.
The big difference between the two is the design. The original Tile was smaller from a width perspective, but significantly thicker. The new Tile Slim is much thinner, almost wafer-like, but it’s also much wider than the original Tile.
If you’re someone who wants to track a set of keys with the Tile, then you’ll still want to opt for the original version, as it’s the version that contains the necessary key ring hole. But if you’re looking to slide the Tile into tight spaces, such as the inside of a wallet, then the Tile Slim is the way to go.
Hands-on video
Getting set up is super-easy. Just download the Tile app from the App Store, set up an account, provide necessary permissions, and activate the Tile Slim. Like previous versions, the Tile Slim features a non-replaceable 1-year battery that you don’t have to charge or micromanage at all. It’s a total set-it-and-forget-it affair.
Tracking works in both directions; you can track the Tile using the Tile app, or you can track the paired Smartphone using the Tile. The Tile logo on the front of the Tile Slim serves as a button that can be used to talk to your iPhone. A double-press of the button will cause your iPhone to emit an audible alert, regardless of whether or not your iPhone is muted.
There are obvious limitations when it comes to using any Tile product. The biggest limitation is the range, as it’s Bluetooth-only, which means it’s only going to track items within your vicinity. That said, there is a “View on Map” feature that will allow you to see the last place that the Tile Slim appeared to the Tile app. Such a feature isn’t a realtime indicator as to the Tile’s location, but it could help you get started in your search,
Tile also features sharing options for tracking shared items like keys, bags, etc. And if you place your Tile into lost mode, other Tile community members can pitch in and help with the search. Tile goes as far as to call it the largest lost and found community in the world.
The bottom line is that the Tile isn’t a miracle tool, but it can be effective if you’re someone who often misplaces items at home, at work, etc. If you drop your keys in the middle of a busy thoroughfare and drive off, it’s probably not going to be as effective, but if misplacing your keys in the refrigerator seems to be a more likely scenario, then the Tile could be a big help.
