The guys over at Chipolo have been hard at work for these past few months and the end result is Chipolo Plus. If you are not familiar with what Chipolo is or does, check my review of Chipolo tracker. If you don't have time for that well, Chipolo is a smart Bluetooth tracker that finds everyday items in seconds and the Plus is the second iteration which boasts a couple of new features.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCqZNbGCJDY
The main and biggest change, in my opinion, is the fact that the Plus is maintenance-free meaning no battery replacement. Once it ships to you, the battery will supposedly last an entire year and I believe that since the original one aka. Classic had replaceable batteries that lasted more than 6 months. I changed the dead one on my Classic a couple weeks ago so the math checks out. This choice is kinda like a double edged sword. In one hand you have a closed unit water resistant up to IP5 standards, but on the other hand once the battery is dead, you have to order and wait for a new unit, luckily you will get a discount.
Another big change is the way it works. You don't have to shake it like crazy to find your connected phone instead, they have opted for a single big button as you can now double press the middle of the unit to ring your phone. This fixes that annoying spottiness of the accelerometers the Classic had and still has.
Other than these, I couldn't really find any new features. On the ads and also as their tagline, they say "The world's loudest Bluetooth tracker..." and to be honest I didn't really hear a significant increase in volume between the Plus and Classic. They chime that plays on the Plus however, is nicer and 'friendlier" on your ears as the default ring sound of the Classic.
That about covers everything about the newly released Chipolo Plus. It is still made of plastic, it still comes in beautiful colors and it works as good as it is advertised. All of the features that the Classic had as In/Out Range Notifications, Last Seen on Map and Community Search are still present here and the pairing to the phone is as easy as it can be. But should you upgrade? Well, no as the Classic still does everything the Plus does, but if you are looking to get a smart Bluetooth item finder, the Plus is the way to go. Thanks for reading!
