- Nomad has launched Tracking Card Pro to keep your wallet safe
- The device is disguised as a credit card, complete with fake chip
- It is an upgrade over the existing Nomad Tracking Card
Nomad is known for its high-end accessories made for the best iPhones and other Apple devices, but its latest effort is a bit different from its usual fare of Apple Watch bands and iPhone cases – it’s a smart tracker that can go completely unnoticed should the worst happen and your wallet gets stolen.
The $39 / £39 / $69 Nomad Tracking Card Pro works like one of Apple’s AirTag trackers. It connects to Apple’s Find My app and is trackable in a way that lets you see it on a map and play a sound to quickly find it. Unfortunately, it lacks the AirTag’s Precision Finding feature, as it doesn’t have one of Apple’s Ultra Wideband chips.
However, Tracking Card Pro has a clever trick up its sleeve: its appearance. It doesn’t look like an AirTag at all – instead, it’s disguised as a credit card, complete with a dummy metal chip. The idea is that a thief might not realize it’s a tracking device and thus leave it in place in your wallet, giving you more time to track it down and alert the police.
Another welcome bonus is that you can charge the Tracking Card Pro using a Qi, Qi2 or MagSafe wireless charger. And since it’s magnetic, it snaps into perfect charging alignment and can even be turned on on vertical chargers.
New and improved
Nomad already sells a similar device called the Tracking Card ($29 / £29 / $59). The difference here, however, is that the Pro edition has a much longer battery life (16 months versus the regular Tracking Card’s five months) and a design that more closely mimics a credit card, giving it an advantage in terms of camouflage.
These are not the only differences. At 2.5mm, the Tracking Card Pro is slightly thicker than the 1.7mm Tracking Card, likely to account for the more powerful battery. And of course there is the fake chip which is not present on the tracking card.
I’ve used a number of item trackers in the past, including AirTags and a Pebblebee card. However, both of these devices lack the dummy chip that Nomad’s card boasts – if I had to choose a tracking card again, I’d be very tempted to choose Nomad’s device thanks to the ingenious disguise.
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