As rumors about Apple's AirTags ramp up, AirTag competitor Tile is planning to launch a new "Premium Protect" service that will provide up to $1,000 to reimburse customers who subscribe for their lost items.
Tile already has a premium plan that provides Smart Alerts when an item is left behind, free replacement batteries each year, and 30-day location history, but the $30 subscription service (per year) does not include item reimbursement.
As highlighted by Engadget, the Premium Protect service will cost $100 a year and will offer all of the same features as the premium service, but with the promise of up to $1,000 if Tile can't help users locate a lost item within seven days.
Premium Protect will cover Tile trackers as well as items that have built-in Tile tracking features like SkullCandy earbuds and the HP Elite Dragonfly laptop, with the warranty provided in partnership with warranty company Cover Genius.
Using the feature will require users to sign up, register the associated tile, and take a photo of the item that it is attached to. Tile says that Premium Protect is considered a service warranty on the Tile network rather than an insurance policy on the item.
If the Tile network is able to locate the item but it's unable to be safely retrieved, Tile will not provide reimbursement for the item. If the Tile network can't find the item at all, then it is eligible for replacement. According to Tile, the Tile network is able to find around 90 percent of items that are marked as lost.
Tile CEO CJ Prober told Engadget that Tile is system agnostic, which is a benefit that it offers over Apple's rumored AirTags. "Our customers aren't forced to choose a single platform and are advantaged by Tile being system-agnostic. We work with Android, Apple and other platforms people are already using and want to use to help find their lost stuff," he said.
Tile's Premium Protect service is going to launch in the fall, with current rumors also suggesting that Apple's AirTags could launch before the end of 2020, perhaps alongside the new iPhone 12 models.
