You’re familiar with companies like Tile and products like the Apple AirTag and Samsung SmartTag — that’s exactly the niche that Chipolo fits itself into. Chipolo is one of the companies over at IFA 2024 in Berlin today, and they’ve announced something pretty exciting.
The company has just made its partnership with several other companies official, with an aim to integrate tracking technology into ordinary everyday items like umbrellas, video equipment, and power tools. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal for consumers at the other end, to prevent their possessions from getting lost. Let’s talk about it.
A Knirps Umbrella Costs Too Much To Lose; Now You Won’t Have To
Knirps is a brand that makes parasols and umbrellas, and I have to say, their umbrellas aren’t exactly what anyone would refer to as cheap. That’s a problem, especially since when it comes to items that get misplaced rather often, a lot of people would put an umbrella near the top of that list. Imagine the horror of losing one that’s rather expensive.
Well, Chipolo wants to save you the trouble of imagining such a horrible reality, as they’ve just collaborated with Knirps to integrate the Chipolo ONE Spot and Chipolo ONE Point Bluetooth trackers into Knirps umbrellas. The umbrella will come with custom silicon holders that hold the trackers (so it isn’t being integrated directly into the umbrella). These will be available starting next quarter.
Power tools are way more expensive than the average umbrella but they don’t get misplaced rather often. Instead, they tend to be common targets for theft. Considering a lot of people use their power tools for their livelihood, having them stolen can hurt a lot. Thankfully, if you’re loyal to Metabo power tools, you’ll be happy to know that Chipolo has partnered with them too.
This month, you’ll be able to get a brand-new standalone tracker that has been designed for Metabo power tools and their cases. Using the Metabo app (or Apple’s Find My app; no Android Find My Device support), you’ll be able to track your power tools so you’ll know where they are at all times.
Chipolo Brings Its Tracking Tech Straight Into Iodyne Video Equipment
That’s not the end of Chipolo’s streak of collaborations though. The company has also chosen to work together with Iodyne, a company that specializes in making high-end video production equipment (and once you hear “high-end”, it’s basically synonymous with “expensive”).
Iodyne specializes in making storage devices for professional-grade video production workflows — essentially for people constantly engaging in 4K or 8K recording, who need plenty of storage and super-fast transfer speeds.
Considering the cheapest Iodyne storage drive starts at $4,950, it’d be an absolute tragedy if you misplaced one — that’s not even accounting for the footage that such a drive might contain. It seems Chipolo has thought of this, and starting from Q1 2025, these drives are going to come with Chipolo tracking tech integrated right into them. I can get behind that.
