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Much like Pixelsnap on the Pixel 10 series, Chipolo's latest Bluetooth tracker uses magnetism and wireless charging together to ensure that the wireless charging coils always align automatically with the charger. I had the opportunity to chat with the company's chief design officer and co-founder, Domen Barovič, about the brand's latest innovation.
An architect by profession, Barovič is well versed in design philosophy and the human aspect of building something. We talked about Chipolo's latest trackers, the LOOP and CARD, which are the brand's first rechargeable trackers and the "best products [they've] ever made," according to Barovič.
"We've been in the Bluetooth business for more than 10 years. Along the way, we got a lot of experience, a lot of feedback, and we incorporated everything that we know our users love and adore into our new products."
Chipolo's novel trackers also feature a robust IP67 water and dustproof rating, a 400ft Bluetooth range, and the latest Bluetooth 6 spec. This enables two connected BLE devices to use Channel Sounding for better location accuracy, distance measurement, and power efficiency.
The Chipolo LOOP is a small circular tracker that charges via USB-C. Meanwhile, the card-shaped Chipolo CARD supports Qi wireless charging and magnetic alignment. Both trackers promise a six-month battery life from a single full charge.
Magnetic wireless charging that isn't MagSafe or Qi2
When you think about magnetic wireless charging, your first thought is probably about MagSafe or Qi2 technology. On the contrary, Chipolo went the unconventional route, sticking with basic Qi wireless charging on the new Chipolo CARD. Yet, Chipolo somehow managed to incorporate magnets in the design as well. I was curious about this decision, especially since Qi2 is the latest industry standard and combines the two functions — wireless charging and magnetism — into one.
While it may seem like an awful lot of work, Chipolo had a very good reason to forgo Qi2 in favor of the older Qi standard, and Barovič was very straightforward with the explanation. "The honest answer here is that Qi2 involves larger coils. I can say it with quite confidence that it's impossible to make it in such a thin form factor. So what we did is, we combined the best of both worlds."
He went on to explain that Chipolo was happy with the basic Qi wireless charging speed since users only need to recharge their CARD trackers once every six months. To top it off, the CARD has a tiny 200mAh-ish battery that doesn't take long to recharge wirelessly anyway. Thus, it made more sense for the designers to adapt magnets into the old Qi spec rather than work with a bulkier Qi2 coil that would ruin the lightness and slimness of the product. At the end of the day, it was the auto-alignment ability that mattered.
"We're very proud that our product aligns in the center [of the wireless charger]. There are a lot of tech companies that focus more on the tech than the user. They say it works, and that's enough. We're more of a user-oriented company. So that was very important for us."
Barovič jovially mentioned that in a way, they "introduced Qi 1.5" to the world by coming up with this workaround.
Making use of workarounds isn't something new to Chipolo. In fact, it's been dabbling in bypasses and hacks since the very beginning. "When we first introduced our Bluetooth trackers, that was 11 years ago. Bluetooth actually was not built for this purpose. We constantly had to hack something," reminisced Barovič.
The future of Bluetooth trackers
After drifting into the past, our conversation eventually ventured into the future of Bluetooth trackers. I inquired about the possibility of Chipolo adapting UWB (Ultra-Wideband) into its future products. Barovič stated that the technology would have to catch up first.
"In the user testing that we did, we found out that it doesn't make that much sense. That's one point. And the second is that we've introduced Bluetooth Low Energy 6 chips. We're the first to have BLE 6 in our trackers. BLE 6 enables Channel Sounding, so it's similar to UWB, but it uses the Bluetooth protocol. The distance part is covered, but as for the directions, currently, it's not there — but we're taking steps. UWB is great to have. We're just waiting for the technology to catch up."
For now, users seeking quieter findability methods will have to rely on the LED status light in the Chipolo trackers.
Beyond new features like UWB, other potential developments to look forward to include Chipolo integrations. Barovič also delved into the possibility of different form factors and the adoption of Qi2, but only if the need arises among users.
Above all else, Chipolo is leaning heavily on integrations with other companies. Although Barovič was not able to explicitly share what collaborations are coming up, he did highlight that this is a key focal point for Chipolo. The brand aims to add findability to everyday items such as toolboxes and motorbikes created by other companies, rather than creating its own findable products from scratch. Many such Chipolo integrations already exist, and they will only increase in the days to come.
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