Samsung has announced the new Galaxy SmartTag3 It is the first of its item trackers to work with iPhones. The small, battery-powered tag attaches to things such as keys or luggage so you can find them from a phone. For a household with both Samsung and Apple devices, an iPhone user can now check a tag’s location, share it and use Search Nearby in Samsung’s SmartThings Find app.
That access has limits. Samsung’s compatibility note says Compass View, Ring Phone and Left Behind Alert are unavailable on iOS. Compass View shows an arrow and distance as you approach the tag. Ring Phone lets the tag’s button make your misplaced phone ring. Left Behind Alert warns when your phone loses contact with the tagged item. An iPhone can help you look for a shared suitcase, but it cannot use those three features.
The distinction matters because Samsung’s new long-range finding improvement is in Compass View. Bluetooth 6.0 Channel Sounding can give distance and direction from up to 60 metres away in clear line of sight, about three times the previous range on Samsung’s figures. Closer in, ultra-wideband, a radio that measures distance precisely, helps guide the user to the tag. This requires a compatible Galaxy phone. Samsung currently names the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Z Fold8, S26 Ultra and S26 Plus for Bluetooth Channel Sounding; other Galaxy phones running Android 12 or later with ultra-wideband can use Compass View without that new 60-metre claim. Walls and other obstacles can shorten the range.
Finding a tag beyond your phone’s reach
The SmartTag3 sends out a Bluetooth signal. When it is beyond your phone’s reach, participating Galaxy devices nearby can detect it and pass a location to Samsung’s Galaxy Find Network. Samsung says more than 900 million Galaxy devices worldwide can help in this way, although an update still depends on one passing close enough with the right settings. An iPhone user can see a tag’s reported location in SmartThings Find. The announcement does not say whether iPhones themselves relay locations for the network.
Earlier this month, we described the unreleased SmartTag3 as mostly a new shape and cited an older figure of about 300 million devices for Samsung’s finding network. The launch confirms a more substantial change: iPhone access, Bluetooth Channel Sounding and Samsung’s new figure of more than 900 million participating Galaxy devices.
Samsung has made the tag about 35% smaller by volume and 33% lighter than the SmartTag2, on its own measurements. It has a replaceable CR2032 battery, with Samsung estimating up to 550 days in normal use or 790 days in power-saving mode. The SmartTag2’s corresponding claims were 500 and 700 days. The new tag keeps IP67 dust and water resistance and NFC Lost Mode: someone who finds it can scan it with a compatible phone to see the contact details its owner registered. Samsung lists separately sold keyring and loop cases for the new rounded tag.
The US launch is due by early November 2026. One tag costs USD 29.99 or about KES 3,900, and a four-pack costs USD 99.99 or about KES 13,000.
Apple’s 2026 AirTag requires an iPhone or iPad to use its Find My app. SmartTag3 gives Samsung a way to sell a tracker to families sharing a tagged bag between Galaxy and iPhone users.
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