The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived: it’s time for TechRadar’s annual Santa Tracker! We will be monitoring St. Nick’s whereabouts as he delivers all the The best technological gifts for this Christmas.following the use of the two most popular trackers; NORAD and Google.
Kris Kringle’s annual excursion around the world is practically a sporting event these years, with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker historically being the go-to resource for tracking Santa’s whereabouts. However, today, thanks to the Internet and smartphones, there are many options to follow while delivering gifts at breakneck speeds.
We like to think we’re the best way to stay up to date and will be sharing global holiday traditions, Christmas entertainment recommendations and even some last minute tech deals to keep you entertained.
In keeping with 2024’s ongoing ‘AI everywhere’ theme, we’ve also asked Firefly AI to create some footage of the big man and the elves at home as they prepare for an important gift delivery. They are only slightly cursed.
What is a Santa tracker?
Tracking Santa is a beloved tradition that’s increasingly being observed around the world, but it all started with a happy accident in 1955. According to NORAD, a Sears catalog accidentally printed the Defense Command Center’s phone number Continental Airlines (CONAD) from Colorado Springs instead of a Santa Claus. hotline and began receiving calls from children hoping to speak with Klaus himself.
Seeing an opportunity for some holiday fun (and some positive PR), CONAD began publishing press releases about Santa’s whereabouts each year, handing the reins to NORAD after its formation in 1958. In 2004, Google launched its own Santa Tracker, which offers a very different but just as fun experience.
Fast forward to today, and there are several ways to figure out what’s happening to Santa, but these two are the keys to keep in mind, in our expert opinion.
What is the best Santa tracker?
You have two main options when it comes to tracking Santa: They offer different ways to follow him, but which one is best depends on the experience you’re looking for.
The original way to follow Santa Claus and, some would say, the best. This website, run by the US military, merges gruff colonels presenting a video about Santa Claus with live, up-to-date information about where the man in the big red suit is.
You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play Store, and from there you will be presented with some mini-games to play, as well as being able to follow the progress of the gift delivery live.
It’s pretty basic compared to other trackers and lacks a lot of polish and website design. However, it is also the most popular and has a touching story behind it, as well as an army of volunteers ready to answer your call to find out where Santa is and the power of the Verizon network in a partnership that has now been going on for 22 years.
NORAD has also added an AI chatbot called Radar to help you spot Santa too, but if it bothers you, dialing +1 (877) HI-NORAD will also do the trick.
A more recent addition to the Santa tracking mix, Google’s Santa Tracker, has been running since 2004, combining the power of Google Maps with intelligent knowledge of where Santa is.
How to play Santa games on mobile
Every year when we publish this guide, there are people who wonder how to play games on mobile like the great ‘PLAY’. The button in the middle of the screen sometimes crashes and will only give you random games or videos anyway. Well, just go to the Santa Tracker site on a mobile browser, click on the three lines in the top left corner, and see all the games to play. (Note: the ‘install’ option, which tells you to ‘Add to Home Screen’, does not work on iPhone.)
While Google doesn’t have the same satellite tracking power as NORAD, one has to assume the search giant has struck a deal with the North Pole to find out where it is in real time using search, radar, lasers and… those things. things. . Don’t ask us to interpret magic.
Backing up the Santa Tracker are plenty of mini-games to play, as well as a month-long website that encourages kids to learn to code while encountering a winter wonderland.
There are a few moments in favor of Google’s tools in this Santa Tracker: the Quick Draw game is designed to teach you how to improve Google’s image recognition software, which seems a little strange, but it’s a wonderfully designed site and possibly the more visually accessible way to follow it. Santa Claus.
You can download the app from the Google Play Store, but in our eyes the mobile site is just as good and more accessible for iPhone users, plus Google’s Santa Tracker also has the best and easiest desktop experience to use.
