AirTag

One of the big announcements from the Spring Loaded Event this year was AirTags, the much rumoured and anticipated device from Apple. AirTag is a item tracker or finder, similar to Tile but works within Apples own Find My application.

Image : Apple.

Unlike the Tile its biggest competitor, all iOS/iPadOS devices and compatible MacOS devices are able to locate or relay a lost AirTags location without the need of an extra app being joined or installed on the device. The data is being shared via the Apple servers and services, with none of the users location or person details are shared to anyone else, just the known location of the AirTag. When lost mode is triggered they’ll ‘ping’ its location every 15mins.  

So what can these £2 coin sized plastic discs do? Well other than being an insurance policy for lost items not a lot really. 

When in lost mode the finder of the AirTag or the item it’s attached too can scan the AirTag with either a iOS device within the Find My application or via NFC on a Android device, which then loads the below webpage.

On the webpage there is the option to disable the AirTag, this is built in privacy measure from Apple to stop them being used to stalk or track people.

If you’ve lost the device within the house, the AirTag can be found via playing a sound or using a iPhone 11 or 12 and the built in U1 (ultra-wide band) chip to locate the AirTag via warmer and colder type arrow on the screen.  All iOS devices from iPhone 6S generation onwards can make use of AirTags via Bluetooth and playing the sound to find them.

The battery inside is a CR2032 button type battery which can last a year with normal use, if you loose your keys a lot then expect battery life to be less.