Samsung unveiled its new Bluetooth tracker, the Galaxy SmartTag 3, on September 30, 2026, alongside the Galaxy Tab S12 series. Before launch, leaker Roland Quandt (via WinFuture) reported it would be Samsung's first tracker to work with Google's Find My Device network — usable with virtually any Android phone. But the official announcement said nothing about Google's network. Instead, Samsung opened the tag to iPhones. The tech press was baffled: Trusted Reviews said the SmartTag 3 "has picked an unusual side in the tracking wars."
The SmartTag 3 can be used on iPhones through Samsung's own SmartThings Find app (iOS 17+), where iPhones can locate, share, and use Search Nearby — but they don't contribute to Samsung's tracking network. Google's Find Hub network, by contrast, is cross-brand: third-party trackers from Chipolo and Motorola's Moto Tag all work with it. Samsung simply chose not to join. The result: non-Galaxy Android owners — Pixel, Motorola users — still can't natively use the SmartTag 3. It remains locked inside Samsung's ecosystem.
Pressed by the press, Samsung told Android Police: "SmartTag 3 is compatible with other Android devices that have access to the Google Play Store to download the SmartThings and Samsung Find app." Translation: non-Galaxy Android phones can install the app, but they can't join the tracking network or use full features — half support at best. Android Police's verdict was blunt: "despite making it compatible with the iPhone, the SmartTag 3 can still only be used with Samsung Android devices. What a missed opportunity, right?"
Network politics aside, the hardware is a genuine upgrade: 35% smaller by volume and 33% lighter than the SmartTag 2, in a rounded puck design — though the built-in key-ring loop is gone (an add-on case is required). It supports Bluetooth 6.0 Channel Sounding plus UWB, and is IP67 dust- and water-resistant. Battery life rises from the SmartTag 2's 500 days to 550 days of normal use, or 790 days in power-saving mode. US pricing: $29.99 for one, $99.99 for a four-pack. It went on sale in South Korea on October 7, arrives in the US in early November, with other markets following in 2027.
Samsung says its Galaxy Find Network spans more than 900 million Galaxy devices. New features include Place Notification (trial geofence alerts), 7-day Location History, Movement Detection Alert, Left Behind Alert, NFC Lost Mode, and using the button to trigger SmartThings IoT routines. But core capabilities — Compass View (60-meter directional finding), Ring Phone, Left Behind Alert — remain Galaxy exclusives, requiring a Galaxy device on Android 12+ with UWB or Channel Sounding; launch support covers the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8, S26 Ultra, and S26+. The older SmartTag 2 is unchanged and stays Galaxy-only.
As Memeburn's analysis put it: this is "the clearest sign that Samsung treats the SmartTag 3 as part of its own ecosystem… rather than as a product for Android in general." Opening the door to iPhones (through its own app, no less) while shutting out the non-Galaxy majority of Android users is a calculated bet: Samsung wants the tracker to pull people into the Galaxy orbit. The question is whether Google's cross-brand network — which has shown openness can scale — will make Samsung's walk-back look like the wrong wager.