Verdict
The Chipolo One Point is a cheap, intuitive, and practical Bluetooth tracker with an interchangeable battery. It’s only held back from greater praise by the unsatisfactory state of Google’s flawed Find My Device network, but that means it should get better with time.
Pros
- Affordable
- Seamless Google Find My integration
- Replaceable battery
Cons
- Google Find My Device network has limited reach right now
- Lack of UWB means lack of nearby precision
- Only available in white
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Google Find My Device supportWith support for Google’s Find My Device network, the One Point can be found within the Find My Device app, and it can be found by a much wider network of devices than the usual Chipolo network. -
Replaceable batteryYou can swap out the battery on the Chipolo One Point yourself, which you’ll likely have to do after a year of usage. -
Compact dimensionsWith such a pocketable design, the One Spot can be attached to keys, left in a rucksack and more while remaining inconspicuous.
Introduction
While there’s been an explosion of Bluetooth trackers in recent years, it hasn’t quite made lost keys and bags a thing of the past. One of the problems has been that only one of the world’s two major mobile platforms has had an integrated solution.
The good news is that Google has belatedly rolled out its Find My Device network as a like-for-like equivalent to Apple’s Find My system. The Chipolo One Point is part of the initial batch of third party trackers to take advantage of this.
Chipolo isn’t new to the Bluetooth tracker game, having made the Chipolo One that works with the company’s own limited network, and the Chipolo One Spot that works with Apple’s aforementioned Find My network. The Chipolo One Point essentially does the same thing but for Google’s integrated Android tracking service.
At a fixed price of £30 per tracker (you can also buy it in packs of four), it’s a little more expensive than the plain Chipolo One, but the exact same price as the Chipolo One Spot. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of similarities across the range, but Google’s Find My Device network throws in a few unique wrinkles.
Design
- Small and lightweight
- Only one colour, white
- IPX5 splash resistant
- Replaceable battery
The Chipolo One Point looks and feels almost identical to previous Chipolo trackers, in that it’s an extremely small and light plastic puck.
With a width of 37.9mm and a thickness of 6.4mm, it’s relatively easy to fit it onto even a fairly tight keyring hoop using the integrated hole. Unlike an AirTag, you don’t have to invest in a separate holder just to attach it to your keys, though it’s also much less visually appealing than Apple’s tracker.
It’s IPX5 rated which means that it’ll stand up to light water ingress if you’re caught out in the rain, though you might not want to go dropping it into any pools of water. Better water resistance would have been nice given how much abuse a set of keys can receive.
Talking of which, my biggest issue with the design of the Chipolo One Point is that it only comes in white, which is surely destined to grubby up over time as it’s dragged through countless pockets and bags. The original Chipolo One comes in a choice of six colours, so I don’t think it’s too much to ask for some more interesting options here – especially given the higher price.
One other appealing thing about the core Chipolo One design, which also applies to the Point, is that it runs on an off-the-shelf CR2032 battery. While it’ll only last about a year, you can swap it out yourself when the time comes. Apple and Samsung offer something similar in their trackers but the Tile Mate doesn’t, so it’s always worth pointing out such a provision.
Features and app
- Simple one-button set-up
- Google Find My Device integration
- Loud notification when lost
The whole point of the Chipolo One Point is that it works natively with your Android phone, so the set-up process is predictably easy.
Just take the tiny tracker out of its minimal packaging and press the integrated clicky button while in close proximity to your phone. Much like the process of pairing a modern set of headphones, you’ll receive a pop-up on your phone offering you the ability to connect.
Once you follow the brief connection process, your Chipolo One Point will be registered to your Google account, meaning you’ll be able to track it from any Android phone logged into your account using the Find My Device app.
During my time with the tracker so far, I was able to switch between a Motorola Edge 50 Ultra, a Pixel 8, and a Sony Xperia 1 VI and still keep track of the Chipolo, but not to the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite 5G. It’s early days for Google Find My Device, so universal support isn’t quite here yet.
Indeed, the biggest flaw with the Chipolo One Point has nothing to do with the tracker itself, but rather Google’s brand new service. The whole idea with Find My Device is that Google can harness the tracking power of around 3 billion active Android devices (securely and anonymously) to help you pinpoint where your lost keys are. The trouble is, Google has made the key ‘With network in all areas’ setting not just optional, but something you have to actively go looking for.
Right now, it only works in very public spaces. Combined with the sheer newness of the Find My Devices network, I simply wasn’t able to track my keys when I sent them off with my wife to a neighbouring town (with her knowledge and consent, I should add).
While the Google Find My Device app is supposed to show a Google Map of where your keys are, all I received for much of the time were images of my various Nest speakers and a message that the Chipolo One Point was last seen near them hours earlier.
The Chipolo One Point, along with the related Chipolo Card Point wallet tracker (and presumably all such trackers) simply isn’t all that useful right now for tracking your items over longer distances. Thankfully, it is much better when you’re a lot closer by.
Tap the ‘Find nearby’ option in the Google Find My Devices app, and you’ll be presented with a little animation that essentially tells you whether you’re hot or cold whilst looking for your keys. It’s not quite Apple AirTag levels of precision, as there’s no ultra-wideband (UWB) here, but it helps.
Tap the ‘Play sound’ option within 60 metres, meanwhile, and the One Point will emit a warbling tone at up to a piercing 120dB. It’s very effective.
Besides the aforementioned flaws with Find My Devices, the Chipolo One Point also lacks an out of range notification, unlike the Chipolo One and Chipolo One Spot, so you won’t be notified if someone runs off with your keys or you leave them somewhere.
Unlike the Chipolo One, you can’t do a ‘reverse track’ and press the tracker’s button to initiate a sound on your phone. You can share access to the tracker with one trusted person though, which is a useful feature.
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Should you buy it?
You should buy if you often lose your keys around the house
The Chipolo One Point has a couple of neat features to help you find your keys when they’re close but nearby.
You should not buy if you want to track your keys further afield
Right now, Google’s Find My Network isn’t quite up to reliably tracking your keys when they’re much further away.
Final Thoughts
The Chipolo One Point continues the strong work of previous trackers in the range, but this time with Google Find My Device compatibility. To that end, it’s subject to both the strengths and the weaknesses of Google’s new network.
While it’s extremely intuitive to set-up and decent for local tracking, Google’s Find My Device teething problems mean it’s not ideal for long-range tracking at launch. It also lacks features like out of range notifications and a reverse phone-ring function, while a lack of UWB support means local tracking will only get you so close.
There’s evident potential however, and I’m expecting the Chipolo One Point to get a whole lot better in a relatively short period of time as Google’s network finds its feet. If it reaches its potential, there won’t be a place on Earth you won’t be able to find your lost keys.
As things stand, the Chipolo One Point is a neatly designed and relatively future-proof tracker that will help you to find your keys when you misplace them in your own home, but it’s not quite the finished article. There’s still a great deal that the device can learn from the iOS compatible Chipolo One Spot, and anyone who needs to track their wallet may want to give the Chipolo Card Point a look. Alternatively, take a gander at our best Bluetooth tracker round-up to see what’s available.
How we test
We make sure to spend at least a week with each tracker, testing all of the advertised features. We’ll also test the range of the product, and how easy it is to set up.
We spend at least a week testing each tracker
We tested how well we could track our items, both locally and from distance
FAQs
The Chipolo One works on the Chipolo network, while the One Point works with Google’s Find My Devices network and the One Spot takes advantage of Apple’s Find My network.
Yes, the Chipolo One Point uses an off-the-shelf CR2032 battery, which can be swapped out when it runs out after a year or so.
