Google's Pixel Tag arrives November 11, and an app update shows how its Left Behind alerts and phone-ringing button will work, possibly with non-Google trackers too.
Google's Pixel Tag, its first tracker for the Android Find Hub app, goes on sale November 11. An update to the Find Hub app now shows how two of its features will work: alerts when you leave something behind, and a button that rings your phone.
Google already said "Left Behind" alerts are meant to help prevent leaving your items behind. Text found in the app suggests they can cover tags, other items and headsets, which likely means wireless headphones. You can apparently be told when you leave a device at a specific place, and you can switch alerts on for each device separately.
The ring feature looks simple. Press the button on the tag twice and your phone rings. Your phone has to be in range. The feature works with one device at a time, but you can move it to another.
None of this is live today. Google has not said how widely the features will be available. Still, the text in the app suggests neither alert is limited to Google's own hardware, so trackers from other makers may get them too. That is a hint from app code, not a promise.
For anyone who regularly loses keys, bags or earbuds, location-based alerts could mean fewer lost items and fewer replacements. The launch is about two weeks away, so more detail should follow soon.
Pixel Tag launches November 11, and its leave-behind alerts may also work with trackers that are not made by Google.
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