Chipolo: Loop tracker with Find My and Find Hub in Benz look
Unlike Apple's AirTags, Chipolo's Loop tracker can be charged and is also compatible with the Android Find Hub if desired. Now there's a special edition.
Chipolo Loop as Mercedes Edition: Looks like a car key, but it's a tracker.
(Image: Chipolo)
So far, Bluetooth and Ultra-Wideband trackers at most bear their manufacturer's brand – like the Apple logo on the AirTags or the Samsung Galaxy brand for the SmartTag. The Slovenian manufacturer Chipolo is now taking a different approach: It's turning one of its trackers, the Loop, into a merchandising product for another company.
Switch between two systems
The Loop Mercedes-Benz Edition is available from this week, and from a distance looks like a car key that's a bit too small. It's entirely black and bears a silver Mercedes logo on the outside. Unlike the regular Loop, which comes in six different colorful plastic versions, the Benz variant has a metal loop for attachment. The hardware inside is otherwise unchanged.
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The system is fully Bluetooth-based (BLE 6.0, range up to 120 meters), so it doesn't come with UWB as is usual with third-party trackers. However, the special edition, just like the regular Loop, is compatible with both Apple's “Find My” and Google's “Find Hub” for Android. Which platform you choose is determined during setup in the Chipolo app, but only one works at a time. If you want to switch later, the Loop must be completely reset. The integrated battery is rechargeable via a built-in USB-C port and should last up to a year. The housing is water and dust protected according to IP67 (30 minutes in up to 1 meter of water depth).
Price like regular tracker, but no discount
According to Renee Vojelj, General Manager at Chipolo, the cooperation with Mercedes-Benz came about “organically.” They realized four years ago that various official Mercedes dealers had asked Chipolo to print the brand's logo on the trackers. Since they were looking for new partnerships at the time, Chipolo eventually contacted the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Germany. The Loop edition was then developed in collaboration with the Mercedes-Benz Customer Solutions department.
It is currently unclear whether there will be further brand variants. Chipolo manufactures its trackers in Europe. The price of the new trackers is 45 euros, the same as the regular Loop variants. However, unlike those, there is no discount for multi-packs. So, if you buy up to six trackers, you pay 270 euros. For the regular Loops, the price then drops to 199 euros.
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