Chipolo ONE Spot is the first Find My-compatible accessory that is a direct AirTag competitor, offering AirTag-like tracking capabilities for your valuables. At $28 for one and $90 for four (vs. $29 for one AirTag and $99 for four), the ONE Spot is slightly more affordable than the AirTag and has a few benefits that make it a worthy AirTag option.
Like the ‘AirTag’, the ONE Spot is a small, round tag about 1.5 inches in diameter, so about the size of a silver dollar. It’s bigger than an AirTag, and almost as thick, but it’s a uniform thickness, whereas the AirTag has a protruding bottom where the battery is housed.
Since it’s the same thickness, you can’t put the One Spot in places the AirTag can’t go, like a wallet, so there’s no real difference in design functionality.
The Chipolo One Spot is made from a lightweight plastic, and isn’t built like an ‘AirTag’. The AirTag has a premium design with a glossy plastic cap and a silver bottom complete with the Apple logo, while the ONE Spot is made from a simple black plastic material.
Apple’s AirTag is heavier than the ONE Spot and there’s no comparison when holding both – the AirTag is much nicer. Those concerned with aesthetics will want to opt for the ‘AirTag’, but I don’t think an item tracking tag needs to be different.
Given their popularity, AirTags are going to be immediately noticeable when attached to an item, and for some people that’s a plus. AirTags can be engraved and designed to look. Those who want something more innocuous will like the Chipolo One Spot, which blends in better and is less familiar.
Both the ONE Spot and AirTags share a similar base design, but the ONE Spot boasts a built-in hole that can be attached to a keyring, strap or other accessory. The AirTag has no native way to attach to items and requires some sort of holder if you want to keep it on keys, a pet, outside of a bag or similar.
Chipolo uses the ONE Spot’s built-in hole as a feature that sets it apart from the ‘AirTag’ as it requires no additional accessories to use, which is a plus. When you buy an ‘AirTag’, if you want to attach it to something, you’ll need to spend at least $5 and often more to find a case. Apple’s own AirTag cases start at $29, the same price as an AirTag.
To test the AirTag and Chipolo One Spot tracking capabilities, I placed both in a suitcase and then checked that suitcase on a recent flight, watched the journey from the airport to the plane to the destination airport, and then tracked them to a hotel while I was away. .
During this test, I didn’t notice any obvious differences between the two item trackers. Each time I checked, both appeared in the Find My App Items tab at the same time, and the locations updated at roughly the same intervals based on nearby iOS devices. I noticed that the AirTag seemed to be updating more frequently, but it was only a few minutes difference each time I checked.
There was no difference in the distance at which they appeared to be trackable, and no discernible difference in the interval at which they updated their location when away from me. The functionality was identical, and if I did a blind test where I didn’t know which was AirTag and which was Find My App’s One Spot, I wouldn’t have been able to tell which was which.
AirTag and OneSpot appear to offer the same basic functionality and can be tracked on Apple devices as well as in the Find My app. Both of these use Apple’s Find My network, so if either the AirTag or ONE Spot is lost and out of range, they’ll ping other nearby Apple devices to provide an updated location. There are more than 1.65 billion active Apple devices around the world, making Apple’s ‘Find My’ network a valuable feature.
The core feature set between the ONE Spot and AirTag is largely the same, but there are a few things worth highlighting that make each accessory a standout option. Setting up the ‘AirTag’ is easy, as you just hold it up to an iPhone and it connects instantly. With the Chipolo, I held it up to my iPhone and was then instructed to press on it (there’s a built-in button function). It wasn’t hard, but it had an extra bit of friction.
Both Chipolo’s One Spot and AirTag have an identical Lost Mode that allows you to leave a phone number or email address for contact purposes and receive a notification when a lost item is found. This feature lets you play a sound and it’s worth noting that one spot is easy to listen to. I don’t think one is louder than the other in direct sound, but when tucked into a bag or couch cushion, the One Spot isn’t as forgiving.
I used an iPhone app to test the decibel level, and while I’m not sure how accurate an iPhone app is, the AirTag maxed out at 86 decibels and the One Spot maxed out at 83 decibels, but again, the One Spot was easy to listen to when covered. The ‘AirTag’ also cuts off its sound after a few seconds, while the ONE Spot’s sound lasts longer, so it easily wins in a direct sound comparison.
The AirTag and ONE Spot both use CR2032 batteries that are designed to last about a year and are replaceable, so there is little difference. But the AirTag is more water resistant, which makes it better in situations where it might come into contact with liquids or the elements.
There is another major difference between the two item trackers and that is the precision search. Apple has added a Precision Finding feature that uses the U1 chip in the AirTag when paired with an iPhone 11 or iPhone 12 model, designed to make it easier to track a nearby lost item by pointing you in the right direction.
It’s a hit or miss feature that doesn’t always work the way you’d expect it to, but it’s definitely nice to have, especially when an item like a set of keys gets lost indoors. The One Spot doesn’t have an equivalent feature because it doesn’t have an ultra-wideband chip, but even so, Apple still doesn’t allow third-party companies to access the U1 chip in the iPhone (although it’s coming).
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In terms of basic functionality, ‘AirTag’ and ONE Spot are essentially identical. Both integrate into the Find My app and take advantage of the Find My accessory network to easily locate lost items.
The One wins spots when it comes to attachment points and sound thanks to its built-in holes for a keyring or strap and its speakers that can’t be easily missed.
AirTag wins when it comes to aesthetic design, setup, indoor item placement and water resistance, so both have their pros and cons. You’re going to get the same general performance with any of these item tracking tags, and it comes down to the add-on features that matter most to you.
Both the AirTag and the One Spot are recommended and perform well, and the One Spot is definitely a solid alternative to the AirTag if you’re looking for a simpler design that’s more convenient. It’s also worth noting that if you’re buying in bulk, you can save about $10 with ONE Spot on Apple’s AirTags.
how to buy
The Chipolo ONE Spot can be purchased from the Chipolo website. A single Chipolo ONE Spot costs $28, while a pack of four is available for $90 Pre-orders now will ship in August.
Note: Chipolo provided MacRumors with a One Spot for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
