Tile announces new trackers as potential Apple rival looms

People who constantly lose personal items are about to have a field day.

Tile, a tech company that specializes in mitigating that exact character flaw, announced a handful of new hardware products this week.

First up is Sticker, which is exactly what it sounds like. This little circular fella uses adhesives to latch onto flat surfaces and provide the location of whatever it's stuck to. You can get two for $40 or four for $60, and it has a 150-foot tracking distance.

Aside from that, everything Tile announced is a refresh of a previously existing product. The Tile Slim is back with a new credit card shape, as opposed to the square shape it had before. Slip it into your wallet or coat jacket for an extra layer of security. For $30, you get 200 feet of coverage.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Finally, the old Mate and Pro devices got extended Bluetooth ranges. The new Mate has the same price and coverage distance as the new Slim, but the form factor allows it to track different types of items like keys. For $35, the high-end Tile Pro can track objects all the way up to 400 feet away.

All of these are available today on Tile's website and pretty much every other retailer that sells tech.

The new products are even more interesting because Tile might have a big-name competitor very soon. Apple is rumored to be working on its own version of a Tile tracker for months now, but we didn't get an announcement back in September like we hoped.

However, there's been chatter recently about Apple possibly holding another hardware event soon to talk about its Tile competitor, along with new AirPods and other products. There is precedent. Last year, Apple had its traditional iPhone event in September and then put on another show that October to talk about MacBooks and iPads.

Of course, Apple hasn't actually announced anything like that yet. We'll let you know if it does.