Nomad has been on a roll this year with new tech accessory releases, but the most exciting of them, at least for me, is its new Apple Find My Tracking Card. A first for the brand, I had high hopes when I got my hands on one a couple days before the official reveal, and now it’s time to weigh-in after using it everyday for the last month or more. Head below for more details in the latest edition of Tested with gadgetnewsonline.
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Hands-on with Nomad’s new Find My Tracking Card
Nomad’s new Find My Tracking Card features wireless charging – it even sticks to MagSafe charging pads – and sells for $40.
It has been mostly out of stock since shortly after release, but you can lock one in right now, despite the listing saying it’s backordered. The backordered purchase will begin shipping on August 20 anyway.
Features at a glance
- Slim design works in any wallet
- As thin as 2 standard credit cards
- Locate with the Find My app
- Wirelessly recharge on any Qi or MagSafe charger
- 5 month battery life once fully charged
gadgetnewsonline’ Take:
There’s a few features that are a must for me when it comes to these card-style trackers. After all there are a ton of them out there, albeit mostly from no-name brands or those we don’t have much experience with, but as far as I’m concerned there are a few boxes they absolutely must tick to be worth your time and cash:
- They must not be much thicker than a typical credit card to fit in my card holder wallet.
- They must work with Apple Find My, and flawlessly so.
- And lastly, but potentially most important of all, they absolutely must offer wireless charging.
Most of the options out there I have either tested out or seen in person are relatively close to the sort of thickness I am after, and so is Nomad’s. Check.
Some folks aren’t as firmly planted in the Apple/iPhone ecosystem as I am/others, so I get that some don’t care about the Find My action. But I do and, let’s face it, the Apple network has proven itself to be the best out there (for the most part). Check.
There are some solid options without the wireless charging, but I mean the last thing I need is another (usually) proprietary cable to worry about – I don’t care how long the battery lasts. And I certainly am not okay with the models that you can’t recharge at all – I don’t care how long the battery lasts. Frankly, most of the options I have seen without the wireless charging aren’t all that less pricey through the lens of a lauded piece of Nomad kit that costs $40. Check.
Clearly Nomad is checking all of my boxes here, so let’s talk performance.
As I detailed in my early hands-on impressions piece, the actual setup process was a literal breeze. It takes about a minute to setup and you’re ready to go. The card hasn’t lost connection in any way since I set it up well over a month ago – absolutely no complaints or issues here.
As for the actual tracking, it has worked flawlessly ever since I set it up.
While I’m not the type to lose my wallet (or anything for that matter), it has saved mw some inconvenience a couple times in much the same way it would save the day if you left/dropped/lost your wallet out in public. I’ll run out the door in a hurry to go grab coffee or something from the store, and, boom, a notification pops up on my phone saying you left behind the one thing you absolutely had to have for this mini trip downstairs and across the street.
You can ask for Left Behind Notifications or not, and optionally add exceptions – don’t notify me if I left it at Home or at a particular address. I just turn these all off because I always want to know if I’ve left it behind, and it works great.
Now let’s talk the actual charging process and battery life. Firstly, I turned it on when I first got it in late May, gave it a quick top off for a few minutes about a week ago, and it hasn’t come anywhere near depleting. I didn’t even need to charge it – Nomad says it lasts 5 months and I believe them. The battery life is great and the ability to just drop it on the Qi pads I already have is equally as convenient. You drop it on the charger, a small LED indicator tells what’s happening and it’s that easy.
I also happen to like the look of the Nomad card, for the most part. I might have preferred it side stepped some of the techie printing on the back in favor of the totally clean black treatment you see on the other side. But it is still a nice minimalist vibe that doesn’t have any garish logo work on it. I haven’t actually spilled anything on it (yet), but the IPX7 water- and dust-proof construction is a nice touch as well.
In the end, the Nomad Find My Tracking Card with Wireless MagSafe charging is a pure winner. Do I wish it was $20? Yes. Will it ever go on sale? Most likely not any time soon. But, do I still recommend it to anyone? Yes, very much so.
Buy the Nomad Find My Tracking Card
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