Google's Nest team appears to be working on AirTag-like location trackers, codenamed Grogu, with Bluetooth LE and UWB support, for a possible I/O launch in May
Context & Ripple Effects
Google's Nest team is prototyping an AirTag-style tracker codenamed Grogu with Bluetooth LE and ultra-wideband support, reportedly aimed at a May I/O reveal. The groundwork is already visible in Google's own software moves: its Find My Device network now flags unknown Bluetooth trackers traveling with users and detects Apple's AirTags, and Apple and Google jointly submitted an anti-stalking specification for Bluetooth trackers days later.
That pairing matters: Google was building both the detection layer and, per this report, the tracked device itself — meaning it would enter the category as both referee and competitor to AirTag. The arc ultimately paid off years later, when Google launched the $29 Pixel Tag with UWB and Find Hub support at pricing that matches AirTag 2.
First-order effects
- Apple's AirTag loses its status as the only first-party UWB tracker from a major platform holder, forcing Apple to compete on its own detection network against a rival that co-writes the anti-stalking rules.
Second-order effects
- Google's Find My Device network becomes a two-sided asset — detecting third-party trackers while locating Google's own — giving Tile-style accessory makers and Android OEMs a reason to build against Google's network rather than a proprietary one.
Third-order effects
- If platform holders both sell trackers and police the category via the joint specification, the market consolidates around Apple's and Google's networks, squeezing independent tracker makers into compliance roles within someone else's ecosystem.
The trend: Location tracking is consolidating under the two mobile platform holders, who simultaneously operate the largest finding networks, sell their own trackers, and set the anti-stalking standards everyone else must meet.