With Google’s Find My Device (FMD) network expanded to use crowdsourcing to locate devices and 3rd party tracker tags earlier this year, it finally makes it possible for the Android world to experience the equivalent of Apple’s AirTags. In this post, I’ll review the Pebblebee Clip.
It’s a good thing that Google’s FMD facilitates competition by supporting 3rd party tracker tags on their network. I earlier reviewed the Moto Tag. Pebblebee is not a newcomer. They currently have three types of trackers for Android’s FMD. Apart from the Clip in this review, they also have the Card, and the Tag.
The Pebblebee Clip is a compact Bluetooth tracker that you can easily attach to your valuable items. Unlike the Moto Tag, however, the Pebblebee Clip does not support UWB. This currently makes little difference since FMD doesn’t yet make use of UWB, though if you’re thinking about futureproofing, this may be a point to consider.
Although not visually obvious, there is a button in the centre of the Pebblebee Clip. It is the only way to interact with the device. The button does take a bit of effort to press. There is also an LED light around the edge, so there is some visual feedback, something that the Moto Tag lacks.
The built-in battery is supposed to last 12 months. A nice thing about this battery is that it’s rechargeable, and you can do so via a USB Type-C port on the side of the device. Despite the exposed port, the Pebblebee Clip is rated to IPX6 water resistance, which means it can survive splashes, spills, and showers.
The Pebblebee Clip’s buzzer is loud, much more so than the Moto Tag’s one. This makes it much easier to locate the tag when it is buried inside a bag.
You can choose to use the Pebblebee Clip with Pebble’s own app, or with Google’s FMD, but not both at the same time. I expect that Google’s FMD will, if not yet, eventually have far greater reach and coverage, and so it will be the better option to go with.
The downside is that at least for now, when used with Google’s FMD, the Pebblebee Clip cannot be used to ring your phone. I.e., you cannot use the Pebblebee Clip to locate your phone. This is supported by the Moto Tag, and it is supported by the Pebblebee Clip when used with the Pebblebee app, so I expect that a future software update may add this feature.
The Pebblebee Clip’s retail box includes a ring to make it easy to attach the device to other items, as well as a short USB Type-C cable.
The retail price of the Pebblebee Clip in a pack of 4 is $166, or about $41.50 per unit. The street price is likely lower, like there’s a 25% sale now, from Pebblebee’s website, though you would have to add shipping charges. You can find it on local marketplace platforms (e.g. Shopee) for about $38 each.