Google is celebrating the launch of its Find My machine internet.
All smartphones running Android 9 or later are integrated with theFind My Devicetracking online grid.
In other words, Find My unit is the Android version ofApple’s Find Mynetwork.
Sergio Rodriguez / How-To Geek
It works with phones, smartwatches, earbuds, and small AirTags-like trackers.
Still, the ability to track a phone with dead batteries comes as a bit of a surprise.
It seems that these phones can reserve some energy for Bluetooth after dying.
If this is a software feature, it could be retroactively added to older Android devices.
But if it’s a hardware feature, we’ll only see it in new phones.
(The battery impact of low-energy Bluetooth is pretty negligible, in case you’re wondering.)
In addition to this Pixel 8 announcement, Google has sharedseveral screenshotsof the Find My unit app.
Note that Google isn’t the first company to offer dead-machine tracking.
All iPhones made since 2019 can be tracked for a brief period after their batteries die.
Compatible tracking devices, such as theChipolo ONE Point, will launch in May 2024.
