Galaxy SmartTag3 Works on iPhone, but Not Its Compass View

Yes: the Galaxy SmartTag3 is the first Samsung tracker that works with an iPhone, through Samsung’s SmartThings app rather than Apple’s Find My. On an iPhone you can see where the tag is, share it and use Search Nearby, but Samsung says Compass View, Ring Phone and Left Behind Alert are not available on iOS.

It costs $29.99, or $99.99 for four, and Samsung says it reaches the US by early November 2026. Samsung put it on sale in Korea first, from 7 October.

What an iPhone can do with it

	On a Galaxy phone	On an iPhone	AirTag (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) on an iPhone
App	SmartThings (SmartThings Find)	SmartThings, iOS 17.0 or later	Find My, iOS 26 or later
See its location, share it	Yes	Yes	Yes, with up to five people
Search Nearby	Yes	Yes	Play a sound
Direction and distance	Compass View, on supported Galaxy phones	Not available	Precision Finding, iPhone 15 or later
Alert when you leave it behind	Left Behind Alert	Not available	Notify When Left Behind
Ring Phone	Yes	Not available	—
Place Notification, Location History, Movement Detection Alert	Yes	Samsung does not say	—

The SmartTag3 columns are Samsung’s releases of 30 September and 8 October. The AirTag column is Apple’s own pages, read 9 October, on paper only: we have used neither tag.

How it works on an iPhone

You install Samsung’s SmartThings app, which Apple’s US App Store lists as needing iOS 17.0 or later. Samsung’s releases give no separate minimum for the tag, and do not say which version of the app first supports it.

Samsung describes no link to Apple’s Find My. Its releases name SmartThings Find for the app side and the Galaxy Find Network for finding a tag out of Bluetooth range, which Samsung describes as more than 900 million participating Galaxy devices. None of them mentions Find My. On Samsung’s description, then, the network that spots a lost SmartTag3 out of Bluetooth range is made of Galaxy devices, whichever phone you own.

Samsung’s own example of the iPhone use is sharing: a family member borrows a suitcase and checks its location from their own Galaxy or iOS device. It does not say whether someone with only an iPhone can set up a tag without a Galaxy in the house. Engadget’s report of 30 September says that you can “use and locate things” with the SmartTag3 from either an iPhone or an Android phone.

What stays on Galaxy

Compass View. This is the arrow-and-distance view. Samsung says Bluetooth 6.0 Channel Sounding gives guidance from up to 60 metres, measured in line of sight, before ultra-wideband takes over up close. It needs a Galaxy on Android 12 or later with ultra-wideband or Channel Sounding, and Channel Sounding currently works only on the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Z Fold8, S26 Ultra and S26 Plus. The Galaxy S26 FE and the base S26 are not on that list.

Left Behind Alert and Ring Phone. Left Behind Alert notifies you when your phone loses its connection to the tagged item. Samsung lists it and Ring Phone as unavailable on iOS, and its SmartTag3 releases do not describe Ring Phone further.

What Samsung does not address. Place Notification (a trial feature that alerts you when a tag enters or leaves an area), Location History (kept seven days) and Movement Detection Alert are described with no platform note. Samsung’s footnote names only three missing features, but that is not a statement that the rest work on iOS.

Pet activity. Engadget reported on 30 September that the tag records how much a pet moves, how long it is active and how much it sleeps, in a pet tab in SmartThings. None of Samsung’s three releases mentions it, though they do describe Place Notification and Location History for pets, so which phones get it is not known.

Other Android phones are out

Samsung’s releases say “Galaxy and iOS devices”, and that wording is now the policy. Android Authority reported on 7 October that a Pixel 11 Pro showed an incompatibility message, and that a Samsung spokesperson said the SmartTag3 “works only with Galaxy devices among Android smartphones”, with no plans to change that.

SmartTag3 or AirTag, if you own an iPhone

On the two companies’ own feature lists, an AirTag (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) does more on an iPhone. It finds direction and distance with Precision Finding on an iPhone 15 or later, warns you when you leave it behind, and is found by Apple’s network, which Apple puts at more than a billion iPhone, iPad and Mac devices. On an iPhone the SmartTag3 lacks the first two, and Samsung’s releases describe only the Galaxy network for the third.

An AirTag’s Find My link is also what United, Delta, American and JetBlue take for a delayed bag.

The SmartTag3’s case is a household that mixes phones. A tag on a shared suitcase or the family car keys can be seen from a Galaxy and an iPhone alike, and the Galaxy owner gets Compass View and the alerts. If the household’s main finder is an older Galaxy, Compass View needs Android 12 or later, and Samsung’s update list shows which models are still patched.

On paper	Galaxy SmartTag3	AirTag (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)
US price, one	$29.99 (Samsung’s release)	$29 (Apple Store)
US price, four	$99.99	$99
Battery	CR2032, up to 550 days; 790 in Power Saving Mode	User-replaceable CR2032, more than a year
Water and dust	IP67, up to 1 m for 30 minutes	IP67, up to 1 m for 30 minutes

Both battery figures are the makers’ own estimates under their own test conditions, so they are not directly comparable.

Questions people ask

Does the Galaxy SmartTag 3 work with iPhone?

Yes. It is the first SmartTag Samsung says works with iOS. On an iPhone you use Samsung’s SmartThings app to see the tag’s location, share it and use Search Nearby. Compass View, Ring Phone and Left Behind Alert are not available on iOS.

Does the SmartTag 3 use Apple’s Find My network?

Samsung does not say it does. Its releases describe the SmartTag3 working through SmartThings Find and the Galaxy Find Network, which Samsung puts at more than 900 million participating Galaxy devices. None of the three releases mentions Apple’s Find My.

What iOS version do I need for the SmartTag 3?

Samsung’s releases name no minimum. The SmartThings app, which is how an iPhone reaches the tag, requires iOS 17.0 or later on Apple’s US App Store as of 9 October 2026.

Can you use precision finding with a SmartTag 3 on an iPhone?

No. Samsung’s direction-and-distance view, Compass View, is not available on iOS. It needs a Galaxy on Android 12 or later with ultra-wideband or Bluetooth Channel Sounding.

Does the SmartTag 3 work with Pixel or other Android phones?

Not according to Samsung’s latest statement. Android Authority reported on 7 October that a Samsung spokesperson said it works only with Galaxy devices among Android phones, with no plans for others.

How much is the Galaxy SmartTag 3 in the US?

$29.99 for one and $99.99 for a four-pack, from Samsung’s US release, with US availability by early November 2026. An AirTag is $29, or $99 for four, on Apple’s US store on 9 October.