Chipolo’s Card Spot is like an AirTag made specifically for your wallet

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Though there’s a lot to like about Apple’s AirTag, the design can be limiting and usually requires you to purchase an accessory to properly attach it to most things. Chipolo is looking to solve these limited hiccups with the $35 Card Spot, which has nearly all the tracking powers of the AirTag in a functional credit card-sized tracker that easily slides into a wallet.

It’s one of our favorite announcements from CES 2022 and a finalist as the best accessory to come from the show. The Card Spot is up for order now from Nomad Goods, so let’s break down this pint-size flat item tracker to help you decide whether it’s for you.

Chipolo isn’t reinventing the wheel here — there have been countless other credit card-shaped Bluetooth trackers, such as Chipolo’s original Card and Tile’s Slim.

The difference is that the Card Spot is the first tracker of its kind to connect to Apple’s Find My network. This network is made up of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs, and allows you to track down supported gadgets if you lose or misplace them. Once set up, the Card Spot will live in the Find My app under the “Devices” tab on your iPhone, just like your AirTag or AirPods would. Find My is also available on iPad, Mac and iCloud.com.

Find My support gives the Card Spot nearly all the AirTag features we like, allowing you to see it clearly on the map. And since it’s pinging off countless connected devices in your area, it’s proven to be pretty accurate in our testing. The more crowded the place, the more location updates and precision you’ll find.

What’s even neater is that you can choose to receive notifications if you forget to take the tracker with you. And if you lose your wallet, you can mark the Card Spot as lost and even include a contact form if someone stumbles across it.

The Card Spot is IPX5-resistant (meaning it can handle submersion in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes) and features a speaker that allows it to make noise when you ping it.

The Card Spot doesn’t feature ultra-wideband connectivity, which means it can’t be tracked with the Precision Finding feature found on AirTags. This feature essentially prompts you with arrows and specific distances to find the tag but requires an iPhone 11 or newer.

Chipolo promises the Card Spot should last for two years, but the battery isn’t user-replaceable. This is at odds with the user-replaceable and relatively common CR2032 battery that powers the AirTag. However, once the tracker dies, you will be able to send it back to Chipolo for 50% off a new one.

We think the $35 Card Spot is one of the best gadgets to be announced at CES 2022. It’s purpose-built to live in your wallet and to help you find it if it’s ever misplaced. The Card Spot is.fully featured from the get-go than the AirTag, since you don’t need to buy an accessory to use it.

The Chipolo Card Spot is available for preorder now at Nomad Goods, which also makes some excellent wallets to house the tracker.