Finding Your Lost Devices: A Comparison of Apple’s Find My and Google’s Find My Device

As we increasingly rely on our devices to navigate our daily lives, losing them can be a nightmare. Fortunately, both Apple and Google have developed systems to help us find our lost devices. In this article, I’ll compare Apple’s Find My network with Google’s Find My Device network to see which one comes out on top.

Why Find My and Find My Device Matter

Both Apple and Google’s systems use an encrypted, crowdsourced network of other phones and devices running iOS or Android to help find lost items. This means that if you lose your device, you can use the Find My app to locate it on a map, play a sound to find it if it’s nearby, and even share items like Bluetooth trackers with a friend so they can also see the location.

The Experiment

To put these systems to the test, I took a Chipolo One Point and an AirTag to Pier 39, the most popular tourist destination in San Francisco. Then, I hid the trackers outside of Bluetooth range and tried to locate them using the Find My app on an iPhone 14 Pro and Find My Device on a Google Pixel 8 Pro.

A popular tourist destination in San Francisco

The Results

My experiment showed that Apple’s Find My network helped locate my lost item much faster than Google’s Find My Device network. While Google’s system is still in its early stages, I expect it to improve over time as more users opt in to locating items in all areas. Adding ultra-wideband support to Android’s trackers would also level out the playing field, as many Android phones already have an ultra-wideband chip.

AirTag and Chipolo: two popular Bluetooth trackers

The Verdict

While both systems have their strengths and weaknesses, my highly unscientific test showed that Apple’s Find My network is currently the clear winner. However, I look forward to revisiting this challenge in a couple of months to see how Google’s Find My Device improves.

Find My Device on Google Pixel

Conclusion

Losing your device can be a stressful experience, but with Apple’s Find My network and Google’s Find My Device network, you have a better chance of recovering your lost item. While Apple’s system is currently more effective, Google’s system has the potential to catch up as more users opt in. In the end, it’s all about finding your device quickly and easily, and both systems are a step in the right direction.

Find My on iPhone