The Pixel Tag costs $29 for one unit or $99 for a four-pack . It has an oval/oblong shape and is made of stainless steel and polycarbonate, available in a single color called Fog . The tag is IP67-rated for dust and water resistance (submersion up to 1 meter for 30 minutes) and uses a replaceable CR2032 coin cell battery with an estimated lifespan of over one year . Inside, it houses an accelerometer, a speaker, Bluetooth, and an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio . It lacks NFC, which limits some tap-to-inform functionality .
Rather than relying on a single GPS chip, the Pixel Tag uses Google's Find Hub network, a crowdsourced location system that leverages Bluetooth signals from over one billion active Android devices worldwide to locate lost items . When a Pixel Tag is out of Bluetooth range of its owner, any nearby Android device can anonymously relay its encrypted location back to the owner through the Find My Device app. This approach is functionally identical to Apple's Find My network.
The Pixel Tag includes Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology for Precision Finding, which provides on-screen visual distance and directional arrows that guide you directly to a lost item within a range of about 50 meters . It also supports Bluetooth Channel Sounding, a newer Bluetooth 6.0 ranging technology that enables more precise distance measurement than classic Bluetooth RSSI . Note that Precision Finding requires an Android phone with a UWB chip, and Bluetooth Channel Sounding additionally requires Android 16 or later and Bluetooth 6.0 capability .
Setup is handled through Google's Fast Pair system: just pull the battery tab and bring the tag near an Android 9 or newer phone to trigger a one-tap pairing prompt . The tag is deeply integrated into Google's ecosystem:
Google and Apple jointly developed the Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers (DULT) industry specification, which was implemented in iOS 17.5 and Android 6.0+ . The Pixel Tag ships with full DULT compliance, meaning:
Key limitation: the Pixel Tag only works within the Android/Google ecosystem — it requires Android 9.0 or newer and cannot pair with iPhones, just as AirTags are restricted to iOS/iPadOS .
As a late entrant arriving roughly five years after Apple's AirTag (launched 2021), the Pixel Tag brings several modern advantages:
| Feature | Google Pixel Tag | Apple AirTag (2nd gen) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 single / $99 4-pack | $29 single / $99 4-pack |
| Network size | ~1 billion Android devices | ~1 billion+ iOS devices |
| Precision finding | UWB + Bluetooth Channel Sounding (~50m) | UWB Precision Finding |
| Cross-platform alerts | Yes (DULT standard, alerts both iOS & Android) | |
| Water resistance | IP67 | IP67 |
| Ecosystem AI integration | Gemini AI, Fast Pair | Siri, Apple ecosystem |
| Availability restriction | Android devices only | |
| NFC | Not available | Yes (Tap to find owner info) |
The Pixel Tag arrives with built-in cross-platform anti-stalking protection (a feature that didn't exist when AirTag launched) and deeper AI integration via Gemini. However, the lack of NFC means it cannot offer the same "tap to contact owner" feature that AirTag supports when a good Samaritan finds a lost item. The Pixel Tag is most compelling for Pixel phone owners or anyone deeply invested in Google's services, and it gives Android users a first-party alternative to Samsung's Galaxy SmartTag and third-party trackers like Tile.
The Pixel Tag costs $29 for one unit or $99 for a four-pack . It has an oval/oblong shape and is made of stainless steel and polycarbonate, available in a single color called Fog . The tag is IP67-rated for dust and water resistance (submersion up to 1 meter for 30 minutes) and uses a replaceable CR2032 coin cell battery with an estimated lifespan of over one year . Inside, it houses an accelerometer, a speaker, Bluetooth, and an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio . It lacks NFC, which limits some tap-to-inform functionality .
Rather than relying on a single GPS chip, the Pixel Tag uses Google's Find Hub network, a crowdsourced location system that leverages Bluetooth signals from over one billion active Android devices worldwide to locate lost items . When a Pixel Tag is out of Bluetooth range of its owner, any nearby Android device can anonymously relay its encrypted location back to the owner through the Find My Device app. This approach is functionally identical to Apple's Find My network.
The Pixel Tag includes Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology for Precision Finding, which provides on-screen visual distance and directional arrows that guide you directly to a lost item within a range of about 50 meters . It also supports Bluetooth Channel Sounding, a newer Bluetooth 6.0 ranging technology that enables more precise distance measurement than classic Bluetooth RSSI . Note that Precision Finding requires an Android phone with a UWB chip, and Bluetooth Channel Sounding additionally requires Android 16 or later and Bluetooth 6.0 capability .
Setup is handled through Google's Fast Pair system: just pull the battery tab and bring the tag near an Android 9 or newer phone to trigger a one-tap pairing prompt . The tag is deeply integrated into Google's ecosystem:
Google and Apple jointly developed the Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers (DULT) industry specification, which was implemented in iOS 17.5 and Android 6.0+ . The Pixel Tag ships with full DULT compliance, meaning:
Key limitation: the Pixel Tag only works within the Android/Google ecosystem — it requires Android 9.0 or newer and cannot pair with iPhones, just as AirTags are restricted to iOS/iPadOS .
As a late entrant arriving roughly five years after Apple's AirTag (launched 2021), the Pixel Tag brings several modern advantages:
| Feature | Google Pixel Tag | Apple AirTag (2nd gen) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 single / $99 4-pack | $29 single / $99 4-pack |
| Network size | ~1 billion Android devices | ~1 billion+ iOS devices |
| Precision finding | UWB + Bluetooth Channel Sounding (~50m) | UWB Precision Finding |
| Cross-platform alerts | Yes (DULT standard, alerts both iOS & Android) | |
| Water resistance | IP67 | IP67 |
| Ecosystem AI integration | Gemini AI, Fast Pair | Siri, Apple ecosystem |
| Availability restriction | Android devices only | |
| NFC | Not available | Yes (Tap to find owner info) |
The Pixel Tag arrives with built-in cross-platform anti-stalking protection (a feature that didn't exist when AirTag launched) and deeper AI integration via Gemini. However, the lack of NFC means it cannot offer the same "tap to contact owner" feature that AirTag supports when a good Samaritan finds a lost item. The Pixel Tag is most compelling for Pixel phone owners or anyone deeply invested in Google's services, and it gives Android users a first-party alternative to Samsung's Galaxy SmartTag and third-party trackers like Tile.
| Yes (DULT standard, alerts both platforms) |
| iOS/iPadOS only |
| Yes (DULT standard, alerts both platforms) |
| iOS/iPadOS only |