Samsung is reshaping its Bluetooth tracker line, and the change is literal. Leaked illustrations of the Galaxy SmartTag3 show a squircle-like body — a rounded square that breaks with the familiar rectangular slab of the SmartTag2. It’s a bolder silhouette, but there’s a catch that will matter to anyone who lives with their keys.
The new design apparently drops the built-in lanyard hole. That’s a curious omission for a device whose whole purpose is to cling to things you might lose. Without a hole to thread a keyring through, you’ll likely need a separate case or holder to attach the SmartTag3 to a keychain or bag — the kind of accessory Samsung and third parties have never been shy about selling.
Elsewhere, the tracker leans on the fundamentals. There’s a physical button planted in the center, echoing the original SmartTag. Pressing it is expected to help you find your paired Galaxy phone by triggering a ring — a neat two-way trick that turns the tracker into a remote pager for your handset.
Under the shell, the SmartTag3 is shaping up to be a proper generational bump. Expect the following:
- Ultra-Wideband (UWB) for precise, directional finding that guides you to the tag rather than just telling you it’s nearby
- Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity
- Improved SmartThings Find integration, tying the tracker deeper into Samsung’s ecosystem
- An IP68-rated body that shrugs off dust and water
- A louder built-in speaker to make audible searches easier in noisy rooms or from a cushion’s depths
- A programmable smart button for custom shortcuts
Battery life is the headline number here: Samsung’s next tracker is tipped to run for more than 700 days on a single cell. If accurate, that’s the sort of set-and-forget endurance that lets you slip one into a suitcase or a car and simply forget about it for years.
Samsung has form here. The original Galaxy SmartTag arrived in 2021, the SmartTag2 followed in 2023, and a 2026 refresh keeps the roughly two-year cadence intact. The programmable button and louder speaker suggest Samsung is answering the two most common complaints about small trackers — that they’re hard to hear and do too little beyond beeping.
A launch is expected in September or October 2026, though Samsung has not officially confirmed the device, and no price has been announced. Until it does, the squircle shape, the missing lanyard hole, and that 700-day battery claim are the details worth watching. For Galaxy owners already deep in SmartThings, the SmartTag3 looks like a straightforward upgrade — provided you don’t mind buying a case to hang it from your keys.
