I found an AirTag wallet alternative that’s more functional than Apple’s – and it works with Android

Apple AirTags changed my life, saving me countless hours searching for keys and other items that I had absent-mindedly misplaced.

But AirTags have some design flaws. Firstly, the replaceable battery means you are throwing handles of CR2032 every year. Then there is shape and size. These tiny UFO-shaped devices don’t have a lanyard hole and are too bulky to put in a wallet without hurting your back.

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Yes, some wallets have small holders for AirTags, but in my experience they are all too bulky.

But there is a third-party AirTag-like product that takes everything the original Apple AirTag has to offer and fixes all of the above issues and more. This tag is the KeySmart Smart Card.

The first thing I like about the SmartCard is its thickness, or more precisely its thinness!

While Apple’s AirTag is 8mm thick, the SmartCard is less than 2mm, the thickness of two credit cards.

This makes it perfect for use in a wallet. The end has a luggage tag hole for attaching the SmartCard to your suitcase.

KeySmart made this board so thin by eliminating the bulky CR2032 coin cell battery and replacing it with a rechargeable battery. This battery is recharged using a wireless charger approximately every five months.

While I was testing this card, I thought it would be great if KeySmart had built MagSafe technology into the card to allow it to connect to my angled iPhone MagSafe charger. Well, KeySmart has thought of everything: this card attaches to MagSafe wireless chargers!

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Since there is no battery compartment cover, the tag is rugged, has an IPX7 rating for dust and water resistance, and can survive up to 30 minutes of submersion in 3 feet of water.

Although they are thin, these items are durable and require quite a bit of bending and compression, so they will survive life in wallets.

Besides all these improvements, this device works like an AirTag. It is activated using the Find My app and you search for it when you have dropped your wallet in the wrong place.

This is the AirTag that Apple should have created.

ZDNET buying advice

AirTags are great, but they have these first-gen limitations that I’m sure Apple will solve one day with a wave of next-gen AirTags. But for now, the KeySmart Smart Card is the best AirTag for those looking for a slim solution for their wallet or as a luggage tag.