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Apple Introduces AirTag
- vonsydov 6y agoWhere are the designers at Apple?
- dippydipdips 6y agoInteresting that I never knew the “Find My” network has all my devices participating in finding other people’s devices, but I’m not surprised. Another reason I leave Bluetooth off by default.
- asadlionpk 6y agoWhat's wrong with that?
- thebouv 6y agoI don't want my device sending or receiving any data using my data plan without my knowing. Do apps I have installed send shit constantly? Sure. But those are MY apps -- that's on me for using them. But if someone else has a tag, and I'm near it, my phone shouldn't be used to send/receive data about said tag at all. I definitely don't like this "we created a network of devices and everyone is opted in" setup. Similar to the hub-bub raised of Alexa devices "sharing" internet connectivity.
- russellendicott 6y agoHad to scroll way too far in this discussion to find a kindred spirit. I despise bluetooth. It's so flaky, invasive, and resource hungry.
- duckfang 6y ago1. No informed consent that your device can do this 2. No positive consent to use it 3. No positive consent to allow others to use it on your behalf 4. Who controls the spy network? 5. They are using your bandwidth and device (similar to theft of resources, albeit trivial amounts)
- passivate 6y agoNot the OP, but I would turn it off simply to conserve battery life. I'm still rocking a 6s, and my phone gets slower and doesn't last as long with every update. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the updates, but I'd also like to maximize the battery life.
- astrange 6y agoIt doesn't use any battery life compared to turning the screen on.
- danShumway 6y agoBut do you leave your phone's screen turned on 24x7? I buy that there are more expensive things you can do with your phone, but even if turning off Bluetooth is only giving you back a small percentage of your total battery usage, that might genuinely be noticeable on an older device with an older battery.
- astrange 6y agoI would say it's doubtful it even uses 1% of it. You can use low battery mode to more intentionally extend it.
- carlosdp 6y agoIt's privacy preserving with a rotating key scheme, there's a cool whitepaper about it that I'm having trouble finding right now, but here's an article: https://www.wired.com/story/apple-find-my-cryptography-bluetooth/ https://www.wired.com/story/apple-find-my-cryptography-bluet...
- zelly 6y agoThey already know where you are because of the GPS chip and mobile data. This is just the final step to find/fingerprint non-Apple and possibly non-internet connected devices. Think of all the interesting things you could do with a worldwide bluetooth mesh network, and they choose to use it for surveillance. Lol.
- eneloopy 6y agoWould have been nice to have an attachment hole on the device itself, rather than requiring you purchase accessories to attach to a set of keys, for example.
- athorax 6y agoThe holder accessories are as/more expensive as the tracker itself lol > Apple-designed AirTag accessories include the Leather Key Ring in Saddle Brown, (PRODUCT)RED, and Baltic Blue for $35 (US); the Leather Loop in Saddle Brown and (PRODUCT)RED for $39 (US); and the Polyurethane Loop in White, Deep Navy, Sunflower, and Electric Orange for $29 (US).
- twobitshifter 6y agoI imagine the Hermès holder is going to be much more than that.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- phinnaeus 6y agohttps://www.apple.com/shop/product/MX872AM/A/airtag-herm%C3%A8s-key-ring https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MX872AM/A/airtag-herm%C3%...
- polyvisual 6y agoMy side business is making handmade/handstitched leather belts, wallets etc. These keyfob holders look like the sort of thing I'd make and sell... probably for the same £ cost as the Apple branded, mass-produced alternatives.
- BitwiseFool 6y agoThank you for chiming in with your experience. I, like many others, assumed these accessories were being sold with an exorbitant markup but it seems like they may be pretty reasonably priced.
- freddyheppell 6y agoI'm pleasantly surprised these have user-replaceable standard button batteries, definitely wasn't expecting that.
- kolinko 6y agoMay be due to their commutment to carbon neutrality and low/zero waste?
- chrisbolt 6y agoIt’s less wasteful to use disposable and non-rechargeable batteries?
- tlrobinson 6y agoMany of the competitors are entirely disposable. I’m not aware of any very small ones that are rechargeable.
- hundchenkatze 6y agoThere's more to these than just batteries. If they had sealed-in a rechargeable battery then you'd have to throw out the whole thing and buy a new one once it stopped holding a charge. This way you can just buy your own rechargeable CR2032 batteries.
- michaelcampbell 6y agoI thought you were joking about rechargeable 2032's... and I was wrong. Had no idea. I don't know why I didn't look into these before; I have a number of things that use 2032's that I can use this for.
- SilverRed 6y agoI looked in to it and it looked like they were at a different voltage which could be an issue. Also devices that use these go flat so rarely that it will take decades to pay off the charger. But I guess if you have 20 airtags that could come faster.
- madengr 6y agoIt will be interesting to see/do a teardown of this. I'm wondering if the UWB is separate from the Bluetooth (which I assume is 5.0), though it's probably in a single ASIC. This claims the UWB is at 6 and 8 GHz, but they fail to show the antennas. https://www.techinsights.com/blog/apple-iphone-11-pro-max-teardown https://www.techinsights.com/blog/apple-iphone-11-pro-max-te... Now we see that Apple patents slot antennas; what a load of shit: https://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2020/08/apple-patent-reveals-the-use-of-new-doublet-antennas-that-deliver-ultra-wideband-connectivity-for-car-keys-other-a.html https://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2020/08/apple-p...
- WORMS_EAT_WORMS 6y agoIf I was evil and stuck these to ex-girlfriend/boyfriend car or something, illegal? Edit: Downvoters. I am not doing this obviously. Am asking as this is the clear abuse I see. Tracking people without permission. I see this as being a weird legal thing we hear about down the road.
- Qahlel 6y agoPut it in the seams of the bag... and then you can rob the house -or worse- after figuring out their schedule... and it's only $30!
- dbt00 6y agoexcept that of course your iphone will notify you if it sees an airtag that's not yours frequently.
- ping_pong 6y agoIf you have an iphone. But outside the US, Android is far more popular. But this also begs the question, if I steal something with an AirTag on it, my iPhone would tell me that the item has an AirTag on it.
- p49k 6y agoIf you don’t have an iPhone, the tag will just start beeping by itself whenever it’s moved. This is covered in the article.
- thebouv 6y agoIf you have an iPhone yes. Will it let the Android users know?
- t0mas88 6y agoYou're being down voted because this is described on the page. If a tag not linked to your phone travels with you frequently while being away from its owner you'll get a notification.
- patwolf 6y agoI like the idea. The price is decent. However, I feel like I've hit a limit for the number of shiny electronic things I want in my life.
- dblooman 6y agoIt looks cool, but is a big problem that people have that is solved by a first party product
- mertd 6y agoI wonder if I can put this on my dog as an activity tracker.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- donclark 6y agoI would buy this if it showed activity, the path where it went, was rechargeable and/or solar powered, and if it worked for Android as well.
- DangerousPie 6y agoSo basically you'd buy this if it were an entirely different product?
- donclark 6y agoYes. The product could be much better for what it is/does. What I listed is probably the best case scenario. If it had 1 or more of the things I was looking for - I would consider it. I will add "one more thing"... recharges wirelessly so that if it is on my dog, and I have the charger near his bed... way cool.
- DangerousPie 6y agoIf it could do my laundry I'd buy it!
- donclark 6y agoSpeaking of, why hasnt Apple produced a home robot?!? One that is capable of loading and unloading the diswasher, same with laundry, take out the trash, take bins to curb on trash day, etc.
- Qahlel 6y agoglorified dog tags... I don't see myself spending $30 to find my keys in my key jar that costed $3...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- habibur 6y ago> AirTag is designed for over a year’s worth of battery life with everyday use. The CR2032 battery is user-replaceable and widely available. Replacement batteries are sold separately. That's the piece of information I wanted to know first. Devices like this can be built, but those can't run on batteries for a reasonable time frame. Apple made it practical.
- suprfsat 6y agoTile's been doing one-year battery life with a CR2032 for quite some time now.
- eigen 6y agoonly the $35 Tile Pro has user-replaceable 2032 battery.
- JohnTHaller 6y agoThat's incorrect. The lower-tier Tile Mate has a 1 year user-replaceable CR1632 battery. The Tile Mate is only $62 for a 4-pack compared to $89.99 for a 4-pack of Tile Pros or $99 for a 4-pack of AirTags. User-replaceable 1 year batteries have been the norm for a while as both the Mate and Pro were introduced 2.5 years ago.
- cptskippy 6y agoOnly in the Tile Mate and Pro since 2018 models. Their other tiles do not have user replaceable batteries.
- dqpb 6y agoI had a tile, battery died, won’t buy again.
- tyingq 6y agoDidn't expect user replaceable commodity batteries from Apple. That's nice.
- symlinkk 6y agoThis is a great idea, I’ll be buying one on the first day. Really happy to see privacy and encryption as key selling points too.
- jypepin 6y agoThis is directly competing with Tile[0] which you can buy 2 for 39.99. I guess the integration with Find My app would be pretty convenient but probably not worth the price difference? [0] https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/store/tiles/sticker https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/store/tiles/sticker
- wyxuan 6y agoThe U1 might be a big differentiator - a lot more fine tuned way of determining the presence (spatially) of where the airtag is
- freddyheppell 6y agoIMO the big advantage of AirTags will be that you can locate them if they're near anyone with an iPhone, but Tile is limited just to their own users. Anecdotally I don't know anyone who uses Tile but I know plenty of people with iPhones.
- Krasnol 6y agoI know a lot of people who with Android phones which makes AirTags the limited item.
- fma 6y agoAlso FWIW Samsung has SmartTags where Samsung phones (forgot which version+ is required) will ping tags if lost in public. There's prob more Samsung phones than Tile users - so what Apple is doing w/ their ecosystem isn't innovative. I have Samsung, my wife has Apple...so we're sticking with Tile.
- sorahn 6y agoMy motorcycle keys had a tile on them, and my dad was driving it around for an extended trip. I got 1 (singular) tile ping, his entire 6 week trip. The fact that any iPhone (> 11) will ping home with the location of one of these is the croudsourced killer feature in the making for 2 years before release. I'm in for a 4 pack.
- prionassembly 6y agoI've been thinking about a solution that would let me find a 4-10 year old child that gets lost in a big city crowd. Like a bracelet or something. Is the AirTag truly first or best in class?
- shuckles 6y agoApple Watch for kids launched last fall with cellular and GPS support. You probably want something like it for kids in the older end of that range.
- asdff 6y agoI wouldn't put a magnet for theft on my child's wrist in effort to keep them from getting lost.
- macintux 6y agoI find it hard to imagine that a $400 device is worth the risk of being caught accosting or kidnapping a child. Society doesn’t look kindly on people who threaten children.
- dzhiurgis 6y agoKinda think kid would loose it quicker, but it really depends where you live. In some places their books might be worth more. In some it's 3 months salary. Watch does sound like a good fit for kids - enough to get information, but not screen size to lurk on it all day.
- thesmok 6y agoA stolen apple watch is pretty much useless. A stolen iPhone can be sold for parts, as there's a big market for original screens, but apple watch parts are in not as big a demand (I think).
- yomansat 6y agoStick an old phone into their pocket/bagpack, sim ideal but not required. Connect that phone to your phone hotspot, so you can turn on your hotspot and, if the phone connects, it's nearby plus you can use Find My to track it from there, play sound... etc. Bonus if you have access to e.g. XFinity or whichever is the most prevalent free wifi around, so your phone can come online occasionally.
- Wonnk13 6y agocool concept, but can't help but think about how easy they are to cut loose by a thief.
- koolba 6y agoIn a week you’ll see wrist bands or underwear with a slot to insert these and paranoid parents will buy them by the thousands. Ditto for jealous spouses (secret tracer in the trunk anyone?).
- p49k 6y agoNo they won’t - read the article. Numerous protections against it being used as a “secret tracer”
- smiley1437 6y agoIt's such a powerful tracking device that it has to be nerfed to be sold. Because too many people's first thought is to stalk\track people secretly. Technology isn't the problem, people are!
- mc32 6y agoWoZ[1] realized. Wasn’t wheels of Zeus a similar idea way back when, just never executed? [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheels_of_Zeus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheels_of_Zeus
- resfirestar 6y agoI had a Tile set that I put on my keys, backpack, wallet and luggage. In the end it was too annoying with bluetooth usage draining my phone's battery and not working reliably enough when I needed it, now all the Tile stuff is sitting in a drawer. Maybe Apple can do better with their attention to UX but the main thing I learned is that these things are a whole lot less useful than they might sound. Apple probably needs to make them a bit less expensive to be successful.
- mackrevinack 6y agoeven if they work properly, i can't get past the idea of having to replace a battery every year. and you probably wouldn't just have one of these either. its the same reason i could never get into any of that iot stuff since they mostly rely on batteries. its just plain absurd when you work out how many you would go through in your lifetime and is its crazy to think that everyone else would be doing the same thing.
- tinus_hn 6y agoModern Bluetooth does not drain batteries. How do you think they can run a tag on a button cell for a year?
- duskwuff 6y agoBluetooth is pretty power-thrifty, yes. But the Tile app was kind of power-hungry, since it had to wake up the phone's CPU periodically to keep track of which devices were in range.
- resfirestar 6y agoWas referring to my phone's battery life, not the battery on the Tiles themselves. Could have been location services usage as well as Bluetooth, and to be fair to Tile they have rolled out a lot of updates to the Android app since I stopped using it, many of them promising reduced background battery usage.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- p49k 6y agoI am so happy to finally rid myself of all Tile devices after this announcement. Tile has been one of the worst companies I’ve ever dealt with when it comes to dark patterns. Their app is one of the few I’d describe as having UI that’s actively hostile toward the customer.
- larrybud 6y agoIn what way? I’m a tile user and can’t say that I’ve found their app to be hostile.
- dharmab 6y agoMostly I find the app to be really pushy on sales.
- buzzert 6y agoI haven’t heard about this. Can you explain more?
- labcomputer 6y agoThe app: * Constant nudging to buy more with all the usual high-pressure sales patterns (creating urgency, doubt, etc) * Implies tiles with non-replaceable batteries will stop working after a fixed time (they won't). Other things: * The tile network is not as complete as I'd want it to be. I once lost my keys at work, and someone turned them in to security. It took a week before I was able to figure out what happened--I guess neither the finder nor anyone working near the security office had the tile app. * Fairly high subscription fees for the tiles with replaceable batteries. * Tiles are fairly thick. Even the new Tile Slim is pretty thick to put in a wallet.
- cdolan 6y ago* Implies tiles with non-replaceable batteries will stop working after a fixed time (they won't). —> wouldnt the battery eventually die? This seems obvious that after some amount of time a non replaceable battery will stop functioning
- anoncake 6y ago> a removable cover makes it easy for users to replace the battery. Oh no, someone has hacked Apple's website and is playing a prank on them.
- bnj 6y agoThis is really funny
- 120bits 6y agoI have been using Tile for more than 2 years and I think its time to switch and try out AirTag. I had some issues with Tile but has worked OK so far. Looking at the pictures it does look about the same size, maybe a bit smaller. I do like lot of app features. And as a Iphone user it will be good integration. Also, user replaceable battery is huge plus. Looking forward to checking it out.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- crazygringo 6y agoI thought one of the big use cases for this was to track stolen items, like a backpack or maybe even a bicycle. But the "anti-stalking" feature will notify someone if an AirTag they don't own appears to be traveling with them. Does this render it useless for anti-theft, then? Since it will just notify a thief that the bike they just stole is being tracked, and they can look for the AirTag and throw it in the nearest trash can? Not criticizing Apple here -- anti-stalking is super-important -- but just looking for clarification if this will help you find lost items, but not stolen ones.
- shuckles 6y agoVanmoof seems to have adopted the Find My spec and integrated it into their bike hardware itself. AirTag is for lost items. Hardware manufacturers can build Find My support into their product to defend against stolen items. I’d guess that’s the strategy.
- lylecheatham 6y agoI still think Tile lost out on a gigantic market by not making it easier for hardware manufacturers to integrate into their ecosystem. They should have been practically begging oems to embed it.
- FabHK 6y agoYes, and they refuse (apparently) to join Apple's Find My, and instead want users to install their Tile app (and their tags are then only findable by users that have the Tile app installed). They want to own the entire relationship, but I think here they'll lose out.
- manmal 6y agoThey might still capture the (worldwide way larger) Android market.
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- mandeepj 6y agoI’m thinking about placing it inside my car
- dangom 6y agoYes - especially curious if it works in 3D, e.g., in a parking garage.
- flowerlad 6y agoI was thinking the same thing. Can AirTag help me find my car if I forgot where I parked?
- mandeepj 6y agoAbsolutely. I believe it'll find anything where it's placed - shoes, rackets, dog etc
- djrogers 6y agoYour iPhone can do that on it's own if you connect it to a bluetooth or CarPlay headset when you're in the car... It will remember where you are when you disconnect from it and tag it on the map for you. [1]https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/find-your-parked-car-ipha13ef1c2e/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/find-your-parked-car-...
- GreatBlakes 6y agoIt'd be nice if I could use the Find My app for that rather than needing to open the Maps app (since I use other maps apps). But good tip, thanks.
- gwbas1c 6y agoWhat I find hilarious is that most of the examples are about finding keys. I don't use keys anymore. I can get into my car and house with my phone.
- josho 6y agoI have keys, yet I don't consider it a large enough problem to spend $30 to solve. However, once covid ends I would consider buying one of these for my laptop bag.
- puttycat 6y agoThis is truly revolutionary for pet owners. All existing solutions I know of have at least one fault-intolerant property that makes them useless for the lost-pet use case (battery / size / unreliable connection coverage / etc.) If I understand correctly Apple tags solve all of these at once.
- ambivalents 6y agoThis was my first thought. Is there any downside to putting one on my dog?
- andrewmunsell 6y agoNo cell/GPS, so it won't track your dog if it gets lost in the forest or something. There are other (bulkier) trackers if you live in those sorts of areas, but otherwise I have a Tile on my dog's leash right now just to keep tabs on where she is when she's with a trusted caretaker like my parents. I'll probably switch it to an AirTag now because the network will have better coverage
- JKCalhoun 6y agoAs with many things in life though it would be better than nothing since there are scenarios when it will help you find your dog.
- millerm 6y agoYeah, a lot of people applying the Nirvana fallacy here.
- lucasverra 6y ago"It won't work after 72 hours of losing your dog while doing a space expedition on Mars!"
- jrochkind1 6y ago
- gregoriol 6y agoCome on Apple, stop stealing ideas from others.
- zepto 6y agoDo you think Tile came up with this idea?
- unixhero 6y agoAll we want are better computers with less lockin.
- dangom 6y agoDoes anyone know if this works in 3D? Could it be used to find in which floor a car was parked, for example?
- osynavets 6y agoConsidering world environmental issues we should slow down consumerism around the world rather than accelerate it. For me it looks like a useless piece of tech in a long run (30-50 years). My opinion
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- tomjen3 6y agoOn the other hand, a lost bag containing a laptop would result in the use of a lot of materials if you wanted to replace it + contents.
- burlesona 6y agoThe "commercial" they used to introduce this during the event was hilarious and awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbApA2JLZ_c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbApA2JLZ_c
- rootbear 6y agoThe music is a strange, interesting riff on the Aquarium movement of Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals, not the usual Apple modern pop stuff.
- burlesona 6y agoYeah I loved that, it really fit the notion of being lost, swimming in the space under your couch cushions haha :)
- phil294 6y agoWhich in turn sounds a lot like and reminds me of "Rage over a lost penny" by Beethoven: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5HjwDih-WtQ https://youtube.com/watch?v=5HjwDih-WtQ
- xyzwave 6y agoI interpreted the end as “took psychedelic mushrooms and lost your keys? AirTag’s got your back”. But maybe that’s just me.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- rkuykendall-com 6y agoReminded me of the Hello Tomorrow commercial by Adidas / Spike Jonze / Karen O: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbBNScrYN10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbBNScrYN10
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- qwertox 6y agoSo with this tiny $25 thingy my neighbor can track me in real-time after gluing it to my car? Nice. No, honestly, this is a bit concerning, isn't it?
- vokep 6y agoIts apparently designed with that in mind. I'm not convinced though, give it 3 months before a few stories out there where someone's been stalked with one of these with the beeper disabled. I'd like to be wrong, guess we'll see.
- rstupek 6y agoYou didn't read the anti-stalking measures that are built in?
- qwertox 6y ago> iOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time. I don't have iOS devices. > And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it. What is the definition of an extended period of time? One week? Two?
- fma 6y agoNow that I think about it...My wife has an iPhone and I have Samsung Galaxy. If we put it on keys that we share...it would be very annoying to have it beep at me as I drive just because my wife's phone isn't there. If it does not beep on my drive then it is still possible for your neighbor to track you as when you come home it would trigger the "owner is near". Sticking with Tile, which is cross platform, thank you very much.
- tpmoney 6y agoA search for “gps tracker” shows numerous small, inexpensive devices that can do the same thing. The cat is already out of the bag on the “crazy person wants to stalk me” devices.
- bob1029 6y ago> Bluetooth signal identifiers transmitted by AirTag rotate frequently to prevent unwanted location tracking. I feel like this is going to be quickly reverse-engineered by those with SDRs sitting on their desks right now...
- X-Istence 6y agoSomeone already has. https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/03/04/researchers-reverse-engineer-find-my-detail-potential-privacy-security-issues https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/03/04/researchers-rever...
- inasio 6y agoA week ago my wife dropped her Iphone from a ski lift, and couldn't find it afterwards. I went to try and find it, from home she used Find my phone to get a picture of the location, and had it play sounds when I was nearby. I found it under a foot of snow, first try. This has been around for a while now but it was the first time I saw it first hand, I was blown away.
- stef25 6y agoOnly time I used it was when my phone fell out of my pocket in a friend's car when he dropped me at home. Find my phone clearly showed where it was, traveling through the city and amazingly I could still use WhatsApp desktop to message my friend to bring it back. Tech is awesome sometimes.
- movedx 6y ago> Tech is awesome *sometimes* :`(
- toomanybeersies 6y agoThe only time I've used Find my Phone was when my house was burgled and it was stolen. Unfortunately, despite being given the exact location, the police weren't interested in picking it up. Luckily it was only a $100 phone, so I wasn't too concerned about getting it back, because nothing good would've come from attempting to recover it myself.
- JabavuAdams 6y agoWhat is a "ski lift"? I don't remember the old times before Covid.
- inasio 6y agoLuckily we live in a city with ski slopes near us, this particular one is in the same health authority we live in, so even in lockdown it's been ok to come ski. It's honestly the thing that has kept us sane, in retrospect I would have payed 10x or more for the family ski pass...
- jrochkind1 6y ago> If AirTag is separated from its owner and out of Bluetooth range, the Find My network can help track it down. The Find My network is approaching a billion Apple devices and can detect Bluetooth signals from a lost AirTag and relay the location back to its owner, all in the background, anonymously and privately. I had no idea that's how "Find My Phone" worked. I guess I hadn't thought about it. I wonder what the privacy implications are, how do they (or do they) stop the "Find My network" from tracking units any time all the time?
- setr 6y agoFrom the sounds of it, the “network” is just picking up ambient Bluetooth noise (which is constantly pinging around to find new connections, communicate, maintain existing connections, etc); the only way to stop tracking is to shut down Bluetooth
- diebeforei485 6y agoPage 139-142 has information you might be interested in https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1902/en_US/apple-platform-security-guide.pdf https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1902/en_US/app...
- gsibble 6y agoHis keys are in an alley off 6th street. I wouldn't go looking for them.
- xyst 6y agoit's a bit late tbh. looks cool though.
- exabrial 6y agoI'm genuinely surprised the batteries are replaceable. Apple isn't a very green company (unless you talk to their marketing dept), so to see this is sort of amazing.
- philip1209 6y agoI'm contemplating an AirTag for my dog!
- bigmattystyles 6y agoVery cool though I hope they make it clear that it's not worth going after items, even expensive items yourself if they were stolen rather than misplaced. Even if the police won't do anything about it and you know where the items are. In the bay area, they won't for instance. Just please don't go after it yourself. It will get people killed.
- randyrand 6y agoI tend to agree but stolen motorcycles and cars are a big deal in SF.
- djrogers 6y ago> In the bay area, they won't for instance. Depends where in the Bay Area - it's a big place with a diverse grouping of cities. My local PD would definitely retrieve a stolen item if it were airtagged, but I imagine Oakland and San Jose would be a very different case.
- john_payette 6y agoThis tag has an U1 chip using Ultra Wide Band (UWB) which means that iPhones 11 and above also equipped with those chips will be able to locate those tags from 80m away with a +/-30cm accuracy. U1 UWB uses short pulses at 6.24GHz and 8.2GHz and positioning is done by combining time of flight (ToF) and angle of arrival (AoA).
- snailmailman 6y agoI'm really curious how accurate this ends up being. Bluetooth location is one thing, but I've never seen bluetooth that can do anything more accurate than "X meters away" These UWB chips claim to do "X meters away in Y direction". The direction aspect could be revolutionary if it works well. AirTags is the perfect use for it as well.
- andiareso 6y ago"+/- 30cm" ?
- snailmailman 6y agoCompared to a dot on a map that usually just narrows it down to an entire building? If the sound is muffled and you can’t hear it, this sounds like it could narrow it down to a specific room or maybe even area of a room. Which is a huge improvement. I haven’t personally used a Tile before, but my impression was “you get what building it’s in, then have to search everywhere til it’s in earshot”
- oh_sigh 6y agoThe finding app has an arrow on it, pointing you towards the signal. So maybe the map has only building-level resolution, but once you're in the building you just follow the arrow until it says you're standing on it.
- slimsag 6y agoTile trackers are accurate within +-90cm based on some empirical tests I did for using them to monitor my cat's activity throughout my house. So Apple's +-30cm does seem to be a fairly major improvement, if true.
- Vybrannt 6y agoCustomers can personalize AirTag with free engraving, including text and a selection of 31 emoji, when purchasing them. That's a nice touch.
- lolive 6y agoCan you AirTag your kids?
- ConanRus 6y agoonly the legal ones
- wyldfire 6y agoDoes it make more sense for a moderator to combine these Apple product announcements into a single entry?
- msoad 6y agoI can't find the information on its dimensions. I don't have keys anymore (smart lock and Tesla) so I only need this for my wallet. Will this make my wallet too thick?
- Eric_WVGG 6y agoIt’ll fit in a "Costanza wallet", but will make anything minimal pretty uncomfortable… try the AR view
- Analemma_ 6y agoI'm surprised they didn't make multiple form factors. I was considering replacing my Tile trackers with this, but without an equivalent to their wallet tracker [0] it's a no-go. [0]: https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/store/tiles/slim https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/store/tiles/slim
- andrewla 6y agoWhat I need is the inverse of this -- my wife is forever losing her phone around the house, and I need a button on the wall that you can press to activate "find my phone" mode and play a beep on it. EDIT: Thank you for all the suggestions! I'm aware that this is possible from another iPhone or iWatch or iPad -- this is the current workflow. Use my phone or take the ipad away from the kids to play the beep. Is a button on the wall too much to ask for? I've actually experimented with the iCloud API to try to get this functionality to work, but it's not a supported API so I run into the uncrossable chasm of "put your password in this python file and voila!".
- dangoor 6y agoApple Watch can do this, as long as your wife would wear the watch.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- asdff 6y agoraspberry pi and some script to click through the find my iphone website for you and hit the alarm after hitting your button.
- andrewla 6y agoI will pay you cash money for this functionality, if you can get it to use a delegatable OAuth2 token instead of requiring my iCloud password. I've looked into this, and because this particular use case is not supported in the iCloud public API, all that remain are horrifying hacks.
- diebeforei485 6y agoApple Watch has had this "make-my-phone-beep" feature from day one and it's been excellent.
- sib 6y agoIf you're talking about an iPhone, it works exactly this way. You can use "Find My..." to play a lost sound on the missing device.
- limaoscarjuliet 6y agoMy cats will get tagged first. I used a gps tracker on them, but that was not reliable.
- jonplackett 6y ago$29 for the AirTag. Another $29 for the case...?
- smiley1437 6y agoI'm sure you'll be able to buy Airtag holders on Aliexpress for $1. Then you just have to wait 6 weeks for shipping
- coryking 6y agoOr there will be a ton of them on thingiverse to 3d print...
- djrogers 6y agoOr $12 for the Belkin one, or $3 for the inevitable amazon knockoff....
- mrfusion 6y agoIs it ironic the only thing I want to use this on is my Apple TV remote? What kind of other things would you put this on?
- flemhans 6y agoCar, keys, backpack, purses, suitcase, jackets, bikes, pets
- mrfusion 6y agoHow does this work under the hood? GPS? Cellular?
- RandallBrown 6y agoBluetooth and ultra wide band. It will use iPhones that are nearby to relay location information.
- jliptzin 6y agoSomeone at Apple must really hate Tile
- georgehaake 6y agoIt needs a hole.
- Lammy 6y agoCan somebody please help me parse the last sentence in the "Privacy" paragraph here? I'm honestly confused by the "or location of any device that helped find it". All I want to know is if a LEA could subpoena Apple for the location of any/all of my AirTags, and I can't tell if this is talking about the tags themselves or about the device that initiates a Find action for a Tag: "AirTag is designed from the ground up to keep location data private and secure. No location data or location history is physically stored inside AirTag. Communication with the Find My network is end-to-end encrypted so that only the owner of a device has access to its location data, and no one, including Apple, knows the identity or location of any device that helped find it. "
- lights0123 6y agohttps://arxiv.org/pdf/2103.02282.pdf https://arxiv.org/pdf/2103.02282.pdf, see 6.1: "The BLE advertisements sent out by a lost device contain an EC public key pi. A finder device that receives such an advertisement determinesits current location and encrypts the location with pi.
- djrogers 6y ago> All I want to know is if a LEA could subpoena Apple for the location of any/all of my AirTags No, they can't. Only your device can decrypt the beacon info, and Apple doesn't store location data.
- heavyset_go 6y ago> All I want to know is if a LEA could subpoena Apple for the location of any/all of my AirTags Like anything that's centralized in the cloud, not only can law enforcement subpoena the provider for your data, they can subpoena your data without you ever being notified of the fact.
- theshrike79 6y agoHard to subpoena something that doesn't exist.
- theshrike79 6y ago
- benguillet 6y agoI couldn't find the answer in the article: will it warn right away when they detect you left your keys or backpack behind with a tag in it? Tile has this and it's great, but you need to pay the subscription for it
- varispeed 6y ago> provides a private and secure way to easily locate the items that matter most I am sorry but I couldn't stop laughing. How exactly is this private and secure? Only you know and a trillion dollar company :-) I would buy something like this if I could self host the server and it could operate on virtual LAN. But letting foreign company with questionable ethics know where is the stuff that I love?
- djrogers 6y agoHave you looked into this at all? Apple doesn't know the location of any of these things - ever. It's all spelled out in their very detailed white papers, but in short the location data is e2e encrypted and only available to your phone.
- klener 6y ago"The Find My network is approaching a billion Apple devices and can detect Bluetooth signals from a lost AirTag and relay the location back to its owner, all in the background, anonymously and privately." Is a feature like this already in use?
- theshrike79 6y agoYep, has been active since iOS 13 I think.
- isatty 6y agoI’ve been waiting for this! I decided to not get the Tile etc because I did not want to give my information to a third party, but I’m already deep in the apple ecosystem. Find my is a great app that I use even to locate my devices in my own house.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- stickac 6y agoIt seems you can add the AirTag technology to a 3rd party product via MFi program. Would it be possible to send a custom payload? E.g. with a status report (battery percentage, etc.)
- mensetmanusman 6y agoThere are about 100,000,000 pets in the US. Apple just printed a $B business by figuring out how to monetize pets.
- mensetmanusman 6y agoI wonder if Apple has access to APIs that they will not provide Tile. If so, they might be in a legal grey area.
- cHaOs667 6y agoAirTag shows what Nokia tried to achieve with their Treasure Tag system back in 2014. Hopefully they work more reliable and that the Find My Network Accessory program will be implemented by more manufactures. Stuff like this can be useful for some people.
- frabjoused 6y agoHow do these devices connect to the Internet? Do they have a built-in SIM? I'm not sure what they piggyback off of technologically that gets around having to pay some small SIM subscription.
- terramex 6y agoThey connect to any iOS device in the area over Bluetooth and use its internet connection to communicate with AirTag's owner iCloud account.
- theshrike79 6y agoIt's a bluetooth beacon, devices see it, send its ID to the cloud along with the location. (+ privacy and encryption ofc)
- nikolay 6y agoApple has been in a Samsung catch up mode for years now.
- justapassenger 6y agoWhile it seems like a good product, let’s put things into perspective of big tech. Platform owner, that has deep insights into other products on it, and their revenue, is creating competing product, that’s utilizing api and privileges that others cannot. And utilizing platform they own to push this product to users, without having to pay for it.
- wallwarp 6y agoI do wish it would’ve been open-sourced and used cross-platform. also > that’s utilizing api and privileges that others cannot Apple is allowing third party device makers to integrate with the find my system. What’s the difference between apple
- justapassenger 6y agoThere’s much more than just find my. For a start, other apps can’t really run in background, and can’t get reliable access to location, that’s crucial for something like this (even if you allow app to access your location, iOS will still keep on asking users periodically to disable it). All of those things are done for good of the platform, to limit abuse form other apps, sure. But it’s also conveniently giving apple’s products unfair advantage.
- cmeacham98 6y ago> Apple-designed AirTag accessories include the Leather Key Ring in Saddle Brown, (PRODUCT)RED, and Baltic Blue for $35 (US); the Leather Loop in Saddle Brown and (PRODUCT)RED for $39 (US); and the Polyurethane Loop in White, Deep Navy, Sunflower, and Electric Orange for $29 (US). Interesting to see what looks like a typo "(PRODUCT)RED" in an Apple press release.
- rm445 6y ago(PRODUCT)RED is a charity that Apple has supported since the iPod days: you get a red device and some money goes to charity. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_Red https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_Red
- cmeacham98 6y agoAh, I didn't know that, thanks.
- JanSolo 6y ago(Product)Red is not a typo. It's a weird marketing trick that Apple uses to make red coloured things seem more special.
- speg 6y agoProduct Red, stylized as (PRODUCT)RED or (PRODUCT)RED, is a licensed brand by the company Red, stylized as (RED), that seeks to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries…
- wand3r 6y agohttps://www.apple.com/product-red/ https://www.apple.com/product-red/
- zeitg3ist 6y agoUnfortunately that’s the actual way it’s spelled, at least for branding purposes.
- el_benhameen 6y agoI’m curious what others are planning to use these for (or what they use Tiles, etc. for). I could see putting one on my keys, maybe a backpack. What else?
- theshrike79 6y agoCar, bicycles, wallet/keys, backpack. I'd install one in my grandma if it could be implanted :D
- bosswipe 6y agoIs it cross platform? Can't find the info.
- theshrike79 6y agoNo, why would it be? It requires Apple devices to detect and Apple's servers to coordinate the data.
- bosswipe 6y agoThis will reduce the power of Tile's finding network which will make it less effective for Android users. Why would they? To not be evil. They need to be stopped.
- presentation 6y agoWill this support notifying me when a tag goes out of range from my phone? That’s when I lose things, but no tag seems to do that, which to me is by far the only useful feature for these things.
- ineedasername 6y agoI wouldn't have expected that of Apple considering other popular options don't allow battery replacement. That always bothered me for the product waste.
- fma 6y agoWhat popular options don't allow battery replacement? Tile and Samsung SmartTags have battery replacement... Are you referring to some other beacon tracker that's more popular that I have never heard of?
- dagmx 6y agoNot all Tile products offer/offered battery replacement.
- fma 6y agoWell, there's a difference between "don't allow for battery replacement" and "not all Tile products offer battery replacement". Anyone who is "bothered by this", would buy the ones that have replaceable batteries like I did.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- zelly 6y agoSo what's the point of LoJack now? This will probably bankrupt them. The most practical use for this product is hiding them in cars and tracking car thieves.
- Mandatum 6y agoIt looks like everyone ships AirTag location data to Apple, I wonder what the privacy implications are for this.. AirTags on a stolen vehicle AirTags on a VIP Apple's data about AirTag logs - when was Apple device X next to AirTag Y.. I also wonder what happens if you have a device that repeatedly calls the AirTag to drain the battery..
- snailmailman 6y agoFind my iPhone data is end to end encrypted. If your device sees a lost phone nearby, it doesn’t get to know who’s phone - it just sends the encrypted blob to Apple. Apple then doesn’t even know the location. The lost-phone-owner decrypts it.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- animex 6y agoAnyone else concerned that Apple Tags can be used to track you if you don't have an iPhone to alert you that you've been "tagged"?
- rcpt 6y agoOnce I started using Tile it became impossible for me to remember where I put my keys. There just wasn't any pressure to stay organized since the beeping would always save me. But whenever the battery was out or the Bluetooth wasn't connecting oh boy. Same kind of thing happened with GPS. I used to pay more attention to maps and really learned streets but now I just expect the phone to solve everything for me. I'm lost without it and I don't like that.
- SilverRed 6y agoThis kind of thing would be incredible built in to expensive portable electronics. My bf recently lost his very expensive sony earbuds while on holiday and once its not in the hotel room or your bags, its basically gone. The most likely situation is it was at one of the public transport lost item collections but calling up everywhere we had been was too much work. Airtags would have found them most likely.
- dstaley 6y agoFun fact: Tile actually partners with device manufacturers to embed Tile into their products. For example, the Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless headphones have Tile built-in. https://www.skullcandy.com/crusher-evo-wireless-headphones https://www.skullcandy.com/crusher-evo-wireless-headphones
- ghaff 6y agoThe challenge is that you need a.) an easy way to attach in some manner which doesn't work very well on a small product and b.) you need to be able to triage what small subset of things you really want to track. Yes, building in helps. Though it probably opens up a variety of privacy/security failure modes.
- billyhoffman 6y agoI can’t wait for an AirTag-enabled AirPods case! I misplace that often.
- gnicholas 6y ago
- Waterluvian 6y agoI take it these don't function at all with devices earlier than iPhone 11?
- yborg 6y agoNo, they use Bt normally otherwise, you just don't get the precision location information.
- theshrike79 6y agoEverything from iPhone 6S upwards will work. Basically anything with iOS 14 or later.
- JabavuAdams 6y agoIs anyone else here disturbed by the cost/benefit tradeoff with respect to abuse? Here's this sort of neat thing that is a high-tech fix to a really minor problem but that opens up a whole new attack surface and makes problems for everybody. I.e. your personal need to track a few items makes the commons worse for everyone.
- babesh 6y agoI don’t understand why Apple doesn’t fix the lost AirPods issue. If your AirPods communicate with your phone, shouldn’t your phone be able to have a record of the last time it was in communication with your AirPods and the phone’s location at that time?
- willio58 6y agoThey do this. Find My shows the last known location of my AirPods, useful when I lose them. Then, if I’m close enough and can’t see them, I can play a sound on them so I can find them.
- babesh 6y agoThanks! They should do so for each one (left and right)?
- billyjobob 6y agoSame with Apple Pencil. No log kept of where it was last seen.
- dazbradbury 6y agoAnyone know of an Android compatible alternative that isn't Tile? Every Tile device we've had has broken within 3 months. Normally literally falling to pieces. Have been through 10 of them. Would be fine if they were cheap, but they're really not... Let's hope Apple raises standards / increases competition with this release!
- theshrike79 6y agoCan't be done, since the Android ecosystem is too fragmented. This only works because Apple controls all the devices and the backend. Samsung will release the STag soon though :)
- colordrops 6y agoThis isn't ready for prime time until they are small enough to attach to my wife's eyeglasses.
- kjrose 6y agoSo apple bought out Tile?
- mjgs 6y agoWouldn’t it be cool if there was a way for this system to run scripts when certain events happen? Maybe send webhooks?
- theshrike79 6y agoThe Shortcuts app can already hook into Find My, adding an event for "item found" is not a big thing for Apple to add.
- mjgs 6y agoI think there are a lot more events that could be useful. Imagine you are travelling with lots of bags, maybe you are on a photo shoot or you are a roadie travelling with a band. - bag goes out of range - bag back in range - bag motionless - bag moving at more than 20 km/hour That sort of thing. You could build some cool apps for moving with stuff efficiently. Assign items to people on the fly, maybe a Siri type interface.
- gumby 6y agoThese airtags have a couple of nice features: AR finder and the ability for anyone to adopt the protocol in their bluetooth stack. But I already have a bunch of tiles so I'd have to use both apps and know which one to use. The big benefit is there are more people with iPhones than there are people with iPhones+android who are running the tile app. Tile also has two useful form factors: a wallet-sized flat one and a tiny button for things like TV remotes. If Tile didn't have replaceable batteries this would be a bigger threat (if you have to replace your tag, there's an opportunity to switch vendors). Still, I do expect them to crush tile in the long run. Then again I've been surprised Tile has made it this far at all, so they might figure it out.
- billyhoffman 6y agoGreat point on the TV remote. Apple missed a great opportunity here for the new Apple TV remote to include AirTag find-ability! AirPod cases are another good opportunity for this functionality to be built in
- gumby 6y agoI know, what a missed opportunity. My gf has a case for her AirPod case just so she can attach a tile.
- axiosgunnar 6y agoWait, do I understand correctly that my phone is being abused as part of a global botnet for Apple? How do I disable my iPhone being using to relay data?
- oop 6y agoIt's a stretch to say anonymized reporting of nearby lost devices is abuse and part of a botnet, but you can turn off the U1 chip in settings. Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Networking & Wireless
- axiosgunnar 6y agoGreat, seems like it was already off. Thanks for your quick reply.
- thelopa 6y agoI think you actually want the Find My system service.
- sneak 6y agoIt's a good idea to turn off location services on all Apple devices systemwide. Having it on sends your location over the network to Apple (via visible Wi-Fi MAC address lists) all the time - it's not just passive GPS reception. Apple then shares this data with the US federal government without the requirement for a warrant, whenever they ask via a FISA request. No probable cause of criminal activity is required: it can be used for pure fishing expeditions, or parallel construction. I don't think it's reasonable that using the GPS functionality in my device also means the device manufacturer should perpetually receive a real-time log of everywhere my device goes that is then made available to federal investigators whenever they wish to see it.
- Skunkleton 6y agoTrue enough, but the same data is also available via your cellular provider, and they are happy to provide it to law enforcement as well. Your cell provider also sells the data for profit.
- Tiktaalik 6y agoLooks too big and heavy to put on a cat's collar, which would preclude the best use I can think of for this thing.
- theshrike79 6y ago11 grams is too heavy?
- Rapzid 6y agoI didn't realize enough people had so much trouble keeping track of their stuff for Apple to get into this.
- nirav72 6y agoI wonder how many people are going to tag their idevices with these.
- myrandomcomment 6y agoThis is pretty much a take my money item.
- dbg31415 6y agoHow will I know if someone sticks an AirTag on my car? I know the tech exists other places, but making it so common place and cheap makes me nervous. Would love it if I could press a button and all the AirTags in range of my Bluetooth would make themselves known.
- theshrike79 6y agoDo you people even read the linked articles? Here, I'll paste the relevant part for you: "AirTag is also designed with a set of proactive features that discourage unwanted tracking, an industry first. Bluetooth signal identifiers transmitted by AirTag rotate frequently to prevent unwanted location tracking. iOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time. And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it. If a user detects an unknown AirTag, they can tap it with their iPhone or NFC-capable device and instructions will guide them to disable the unknown AirTag."
- arthurcolle 6y agoMy cat disappeared for 16 hours today, had no idea where he was. He has a heart issue so I was worried he went off and died. Would I be able to use AirTags to see where he was throughout the day or not? Obviously I could see where he is right now, but could I see where he roamed off to through the course of the day? I know that others have mentioned that no location data is stored on the device, but what if I want to use it to see lat/long data points over time, like a time series device, is this possible? Crazy to think my cat's privacy is being proactively protected by Apple haha
- dylan604 6y agoI think the GPS collars would be better for this
- arthurcolle 6y agoDidn't realize this was a product segment, thanks! Do you have a recommendation by any chance? Seems to be a lot of participants in this space, but not really sure which one is the most legit.
- dylan604 6y agoI don't have any personal experience. I had adopted a cat that came with the house I moved into a few years ago, and she was one to roam the neighborhood. Out of curiosity, I wondered if there were products to do that kind of tracking, and yes there are. Some require a cloud type of service. Some require you to download the data. They all require getting the cat to wear the collar, and this one was not going to put up with that kind of domestication one bit.
- nexuist 6y agoThe AirTag network requires other Apple devices to be nearby in order to register the location. The chip itself doesn't have any GPS capabilities. Ultimately it depends where your cat usually goes; if he's surrounded by people or hanging out around sidewalks chances are someone with an iPhone will walk by and automatically update his location. If he's in the forest or in rural areas without any tech nearby, AirTags won't help you until he gets back into civilization.
- JeremyCa 6y agoGreat.. Can they build this into the damn AppleTV remote..
- soheil 6y agoI wonder if they can be stolen off of cats walking around streets of I don't know say Palo Alto... and re-paired to a new iPhone. Can this pose a theft hazard to the cats?
- theshrike79 6y agoIf your cat is walking freely around the streets of Palo Alto, there already is a hazard you're accepting. Adding a $30 device to your cat doesn't make the cat markedly more at risk.
- soheil 6y agoYes, but at the same time you have pointedly increased the marginal risk of the cat being stolen.
- theshrike79 6y agoSteps of preventing cat theft: 1) keep cat indoors There is no step 2.
- darepublic 6y agoI don't want these things near me
- rapjr9 6y agoSo it this the UWB version of AirTag? The one that can locate a tag to within an inch and give precise direction and distance to the tag?
- eatbitseveryday 6y agoDid Apple just kill this business with their own product? https://chipolo.net/ https://chipolo.net/
- danielmeskin 6y agoYes, it even costs the same.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- theshrike79 6y agoNope, Apple just enabled their business: "works exclusively with the Apple Find My App" It's a 3rd party device that hooks into the network.
- kleer001 6y agoAh, more externalization of the human mind. Double edged that.
- k_sze 6y agoI need this to become small enough that I can stick them into the barrels of my fountain pens. But then there's no replaceable battery that would fit yet.
- l8rlump 6y agoHacky solution that works by tunneling telemetry data over open wifi links: http://www.phreakmonkey.com/2016/08/towl-telemetry-over-opportunistic-wifi.html http://www.phreakmonkey.com/2016/08/towl-telemetry-over-oppo...
- itisit 6y agoDoes Find My’s ToS require your device to relay any AirTag’s data?
- theshrike79 6y agoYou really think Apple would release a new product and forget to update the ToS to allow it? :D
- itisit 6y agoNo. Asking if there’s a way to opt-out.
- darthrupert 6y agoI'll be putting on my airpod pro's charging case, if I ever find it :/
- Schnitz 6y agoRIP Tile
- theshrike79 6y agoThey'll still have all the Android users :)
- BiteCode_dev 6y agoIt uses BT right ? So how can it be useful on luggages, like in their ad ? If someone steals it or the airport lose it, BT is of not use here, isnt it ? Someone help me undertand, it's a genuine question.
- theshrike79 6y agoDid you read the linked page? "If AirTag is separated from its owner and out of Bluetooth range, the Find My network can help track it down. The Find My network is approaching a billion Apple devices and can detect Bluetooth signals from a lost AirTag and relay the location back to its owner, all in the background, anonymously and privately." And before you fly off the handle about privacy: yes it is secure, yes it is encrypted, no Apple doesn't know where your shit is either.
- BiteCode_dev 6y agoThanks for the explanation, although I could have done without the condescending tone.
- theshrike79 6y agoMy pet peeve is people asking questions on internet forums and not spending even 60 seconds trying to find out the answer for themselves.
- mbragagia 6y agoThis really looks like an april fools' joke.
- enahs-sf 6y agoAm I the only person thinking of the malicious use cases of tagging things that don’t belong to you?
- gorbypark 6y agoThere are built in protections for this exact situation. It seems that if an airtag is away from its owner and appears to be “following” someone else, then that person will be alerted about the tag that appears to be following them. This requires the followed person to have an iOS device, but it will beep to alert someone audibly as well.
- ezconnect 6y agoAnother e-waste to pollute the environment marketed as eco friendly.
- RamblingCTO 6y agoI don't know what to say, the comment section is kind of disgusting. If you like it buy it, if you hate apple then don't. These kinds of discussions got very boring ages ago.
- njkumarr 6y agohackernews is usually pretty negative and runs with their narrative is
- pulse7 6y ago"The Find My network is approaching a billion Apple devices..." If I buy an iPhone, will Apple use my iPhone to provide their "Find My" service to other customers?
- quenix 6y agoYup. But the beacon packets have been designed to be extremely efficient and the finder protocol your device would occasionally use is super lightweight.
- kohlerm 6y agoIs Tile is screwed now? Or do they have to focus on Android now, hoping google does not invent something similar? Ok just read Samsung has something similar.
- skohan 6y agoIt's not likely to happen, but I wish Apple would provide an API for UWB and NFC. I've got the watch, and it would be really fun to tinker with this along with my home automation setup.
- tonoto 6y agoAt least you have to give Apple credit for using a simple standard CR2032 battery this time and not "inventing" some non-standard format such as 19 mm. Or even creating tad larger cell with an integrated id-chip that validates that the battery is manufactured by Apple.
- stunt 6y agoTesting it has probably been challenging for them during the lockdowns and WFH situation.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- snickmy 6y agoLooking forward to have a doc collar based on this
- GrumpyNl 6y agoLets get crazy over this, replaceable batteries.
- singingwolfboy 6y agoIt's worth noting that the new Siri Remote for Apple TV does not have a U1 chip (the technology that powers AirTag), and so will not be findable in the Find My app. If you want to be able to find your Siri Remote easily, you'll need to buy an AirTag separately and strap it to the remote. Source: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/04/20/siri-remote-no-u1-chip/ https://www.macrumors.com/2021/04/20/siri-remote-no-u1-chip/
- cjdell 6y agoI have a few "Tile" tags which seem OK but I was hoping that I could use my own hardware to scan for them instead of relying on their Android app which just gives you a rough distance. I wanted to have a few cheapo solar powered ESP32's dotted around actively probing and triangulating their position. Couldn't find any info on the Tile protocol. I think smart tags like this could be so much more useful if they were opened up.
- osynavets 6y agoCan it run Doom?
- ubermonkey 6y agoSeems cool, but holy hell I still never leave the house.
- splithalf 6y agoUnlikely to be used for ill purposes.
- butterisgood 6y agoUser replaceable battery means I've just officially bought into this over Tile.
- mutt_dog 6y agoThe biggest thing here is the privacy. All competitors that I know of sell your location data or can according to their TOS
- andreagrandi 6y agoWhile I appreciate the anti stalking feature I'm not sure it would be compatible with a common use case: suppose I attach one to my backpack because I want to be able to track it in case I loose it. Fine. But... at this point I either always bring the backpack with me whenever I leaver my home or it will start buzzing as soon as I'm far away.
- Evan__ 6y agoI'm pretty sure they allow you to define safe areas where you can leave things without the lost indicator firing.
- andreagrandi 6y agoThis could be a good workaround
- fma 6y agoOn the flip side, if you have AirTags on your keys, you always need to bring your phone even if you go for a quick errand. Or you go on vacation, give some keys to a friend/neighbor to dog sit, house sit...and it starts beeping. Good intentions - but lots of questions for sure.
- DennisMaHa 6y agoWithout looking deep at the technology part I was wondering if this could be used as an alternative for avalanche transceivers in backcountry skiing. Avalanche transceivers use radio signals to find each other in case of an avalanche. They are very high priced and unfortunately a lot of people then decide to not use one. Having a cheap and reliable version using a phone could save lifes. I'm very curious to see if this is feasible
- Thorentis 6y ago"If AirTag is separated from its owner and out of Bluetooth range, the Find My network can help track it down. The Find My network is approaching a billion Apple devices and can detect Bluetooth signals from a lost AirTag and relay the location back to its owner, all in the background, anonymously and privately." Peer to peer item discovery! Very cool. Just waiting for a 0-day that let's you find everybody else's things though.
- techbio 6y agoApple missed opportunity to name this ID for IoT more plainly: IDIoTs.