Developer finds reference to Google’s own smart tracker

Google may be working on its own smart tracker similar to Apple and Samsung’s AirTag and SmartTag. Journalists and developers discovered references to such a device with the working title Grogu.

Journalist Mishal Rahman discovered a reference to a so-called Locator Tag in the Google Fast Pair pairing menu. Initially it seemed to be a menu to link tracking modules from other brands, but developer Kuba Wojciechowski writes that he also found references to trackers. They would point out that Google is working on its own tracker. It currently has the code name Grogu, groguadio or GR10.

The device would be developed by the team that also builds Nest products, although there is a good chance that the tracker will not be released under that brand. According to Wojciechowski, the tracker will have an internal speaker, comparable to the Apple AirTags. In addition, Wojciechowski says that the tracker will support ultrawideband and Bluetooth Low Energy.

Wojciechowski says the trackers may be able to work with the Pixel 6 and 7 Pro thanks to the ultra-wideband module, both of which also have such a module that is currently not used for anything.

Google is said to be working with various chip manufacturers to bring support for the new Fast Pair standard to more devices. This would also allow other devices to communicate with Google’s own tags. This is also possible if, for example, they only support BLE.