ZDNET’s key takeaways.
- KeySmart’s SmartCard can be purchased from Amazon for $40 (three-pack for $90).
- The device is IPX7 rated, super thin, compatible with Apple iOS Find My and has a wirelessly rechargeable battery. It will need to be charged every 5 months.
$39.99 on Amazon
AirTags do have some design flaws. The replaceable battery means that you throw away handfuls of CR2032s every year. There’s also the size and shape. These tiny UFO devices are too big to fit in a wallet and lack a lanyard.
Also,Forget AirTags! Tile’s new trackers are available in all sizes and shapes (and even have an SOS button).
Some wallets do come with little holders for AirTags but I find them to be too bulky.
But there’s a third-party AirTag-like product that takes everything that the original Apple AirTag has to offer and solves all of the above problems and more. That tag is theKeySmart SmartCard.
The first thing I love about the SmartCard is the thickness, or more specifically, its thinness!
The SmartCard is less than 2mm thin!
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
While Apple’s AirTag is 8 mm thick, the SmartCard is less than 2 mm, or the thickness of two credit cards.
This makes it perfect for use in a wallet. The end has a luggage tag hole for attaching the SmartCard to your suitcase.
The SmartCard is much thinner than the AirTag.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
KeySmart made this card so thin by eliminating the bulky CR2032 coin cell and replacing it with a rechargeable battery. This battery is recharged using a wireless charger every five months or so.
As I was testing this card, I thought it’d be great if KeySmart had built MagSafe tech into the card to allow it to attach to my angled MagSafe iPhone charger. Well, KeySmart thought of everything—this card attaches itself to wireless MagSafe chargers!
Also: I found the AirTags that Android users have been waiting for
Because there is no battery compartment covers, the tag is robust, has an IPX7 rating for dust proofing and water resistance, and can survive up to 30 minutes of immersion in 3 feet of water.
Despite being thin, these things are tough and take quite a bit of bending and squeezing, so they will survive life in wallets.
These SmartCards are tough!
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Other than all of these improvements, this device works like an AirTag. It’s activated using the Find My app, and you search for it when you’ve put your wallet down in the wrong place.
This is the AirTag that Apple should have made.
ZDNET’s buying advice
AirTags are great, but they have those first-generation limitations that I’m sure Apple will one day solve with a next-gen wave of AirTags. But for now, the KeySmart SmartCard is the best AirTag for those who want a thin solution for their wallet or as a luggage tag.
