AirTags is the best thing that happens to Tile

On April 20th, Apple blew Tile’s business away. NS Notice about AirTags presents Tile, founded in 2012, with a direct rival, if not better, for its main product line. Tile’s tiny tracking devices, which people attach to keys, bags and bicycles, have been a huge success, bringing in $40 million investment this September and caused revenue to skyrocket by 50% in the first half of 2021.

However, when AirTags hit stores in May of this year, Tile CEO CJ Prober hit out at his company’s new rival. Prober declared Apple a “runaway monopoly ship,” adding that while Tile “welcomes competition from Apple,” it must equal compete.

Tile’s complaints range from how Apple allegedly restricted Tile’s access to the “Find My” network to the decline of its former close relationship — Tile Tracker used to be available for purchase on the Apple Store, but not now. As far as Prober knows, Apple is coming to lunch for him. Six months later, Tile released its latest Mate, Pro, Sticker, and Slim trackers. Tile Ultra, the company’s first ultra-wideband (UWB) tracking — the same technology as “living room GPS” inside AirTags — is coming early next year.

Oftentimes, Apple’s entrance can legitimize a sector, like it did with smartwatches. Has this happened to trackers once it has jumped into that market? According to Prober, business is thriving. “We have sold over 40 million Bricks. Revenue was up in the first half of the year. Third-party product activation, a big focus of ours, we’ve grown more than 200% year over year. Business is good.”

But the skepticism remains. Prober remains unhappy with Apple and says Apple’s actions have affected his business in an unlikely way. “We’re seeing really strong business momentum — despite the unfair competition from Apple.” Prober notes that not too long ago, you could buy Tile products on the Apple Store. “And then, very quickly, we were kicked out of their store. They implemented some changes to their platform that made our experience deprecated, as they are rolling out their new Find Me experience. Despite all that, and even though Apple is autonomous, business is good – but obviously, it would be better if we competed fairly. ”