Instead of asking your spouse if they’ve seen your keys, you can now ask Google Assistant instead. On February 3, Google announced integration between Google Assistant and Tile to help you keep track of the possessions you need most: Your keys, wallet, phone, and more. All you have to do is ask, “Hey, Google, where are my keys?” You can also tell Google to “make my backpack ring” if you know it’s in the room, but you can’t quite remember where you last had it.
If you ask for the location of an item, Google Assistant will use Tile’s Bluetooth functionality to give you a more approximate answer like, “Your keys were last seen this morning at 7 a.m. near the living room speaker.” Tile also has location service integration that will be used if the Tile you’re looking for is outside of Bluetooth range or otherwise can’t be reached.
Tile is a popular service many people use to track their belongings, sometimes to great success. In fact, the service helped send a purse thief to prison back in 2015. But while deterring and stopping theft is great, the true value lies in everyday convenience. Too many mornings are made more stressful when you can’t find your keys or wallet to leave. Thanks to the new Google Assistant integration, you can simply ask your smart assistant where they are.
The functionality works with any Nest Home or Nest Mini device. If you already use Tile and have a Nest device in your home, just go to thetileapp.com/google to configure your Tile to work with Google Assistant.
On the other hand, Apple HomeKit users might soon have the ability to ask Siri to do something similar. Apple has plans to launch a Tile-like tracking service called AirTags that would operate through the “Find My” app available in iOS. Many people expected Apple to officially announce the product in their September press conference, but since AirTags didn’t appear there they might show up in at the company’s March event. Once an announcement is officially made, more information will be available on the details and functionality of the rumored devices.
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