What you need to know
- Tile CEO CJ Prober has been talking to Bloomberg about Apple's advantages over its products.
- Apple recently released AirTag to compete with Tile trackers.
As Epic Games goes to court with Apple over App Store antitrust issues, Tile CEO CJ Prober spoke with Bloomberg's Emily Chang about the case and, more specifically, Tile's stance on AirTag and Apple's advantages over his company.
With AirTag now available to buy and obviously a competitor to Tile's products, Prober was in fighting mood when talking about the way Apple has hindered his company's work. He noted that Apple's changes to iOS have made it more difficult for users to set up Tile products, while AirTag features an instant and seamless pairing experience. He also suggested that Apple's launch of the Find My app and network was part of a shift in its relationship with Tile, despite the company's trackers having been sold in Apple Stores for years.
Apparently keen to make sure he provided a soundbite or two, Prober managed to fit "runaway monopoly train" into discussions when talking about Apple's status as a $2 trillion company and its recent earnings call, seemingly suggesting that making money means you're a monopoly.
When asked whether AirTag was impacting Tile sales, Prober correctly pointed out that Apple's trackers have only been on sale for a matter of days and that it's too early to tell. He did reassure everyone that Tile is uniquely placed to compete with Apple, however, saying that its products don't require accessories to be used among other things.
Despite the arrival of AirTag, Tile still makes some of the best Bluetooth trackers you can buy and that is unlikely to change. But for now, all eyes are on the Epic situation to see how that pans out – presumably before Tile has its day in court.
