Android and iPhone, iPhone and Android. There are households where both of the major platforms exist, whether it’s via partners, kids, or maybe just a relative using their own device differently from everyone else.
While there are similarities between them and ways for the devices to work together, not everything will play nice. Australia doesn’t quite have Rich Communication Services (RCS) working as well as it should yet, and so iMessage and SMS don’t talk to each other the way they should, pushing you to use WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, or other similarly platform agnostic approaches to keep in touch.
That’s just one way Android owners and iPhone owners have to deal with the platform incompatibilities, and it’s sure not the only one. AirPods don’t work on Android, while the Pixel Watch won’t work on an iPhone. Various devices are locked in and locked out of one or the other.
It’s also a problem in the world of gadget trackers, because these items won’t always play nicely between the two.
Belkin might have an answer in the form of a series of gadgets launched at IFA this year. The idea is to build a somewhat platform-agnostic approach to smart trackers that works with both.
The result is the “SureFind”, an assortment of gadgets that work with both Apple Find My and the Google Find Hub, and effectively allow owners of both devices to keep things tracked. An iPhone owner can use the power of the crowd for their platform, while Android owners can use their own, and the options are quite varied.
There’s a standard “tag” style in the SureFind Spot, and an option for wallets and passport folios in the SureFind Card, a variation on that in a SureFind Wallet Stand, and also a curious take in the SureFind Loop Cable Tag, a USB-C cable that also works as a security carry loop and tracking tag that just so happens to be the spare USB-C cable you always need.
It seems like an ideal addition to any back or backpack.
Charging accessories
Tracking tech is just one of the angles Belkin is showing off for the back half of the year, with chargers aplenty, too.
There’s a new generation of the BoostCharge compact chargers, plus several UltraCharge power banks, each with their own retractable cable built in.
But you’ll also find Belkin diving into semi-solid state batteries, as well, a category we’ve only seen Australia’s Journey dabble in of late.
The technology means using something other than lithium-ion for a power bank, and switching to a gel-like layer alongside a liquid electrolyte, making it semi-solid and able to run in more extreme temperatures, all with less risk. Belkin will have two of these initially, arriving in a 5K model to magnetically slap to the back of a phone, plus a 10K model with a screen on the back, too.
Belkin’s semi-solid state UltraCharge Pro power banks aren’t expected until early next year, where they’ll retail from $120 in January, but the SureFind gear should be found from September priced from $30, while the remaining charging packs will land from October onwards, priced from $120.
