Apple's long-rumored AirTag tracking product is finally here, and the $29 accessory promises to help locate your most important items if you ever lose sight of them.
AirTags work via Apple’s Find My app, which most of us use to locate lost iPhones. The company decided to take the same technology and distill it down to a coin-sized tracker you can attach to your possessions, such as car keys, a purse, or backpack.
If the item goes missing, use the Find My app to locate the AirTag attached to it. Apple will tell you how far away you are from the AirTag, and in what direction you should walk to find it.
Apple didn’t delve into how AirTags actually work. But the technology appears to rely on Bluetooth signals coming from the accessory, which your iPhone can pick up. Hence, if you’re in Bluetooth range, the AirTag can also play a sound, making it easier to find.
If the AirTag falls out of Bluetooth range, you can place the AirTag in “Lost Mode,” which will let you know if the AirTag is ever back in range. Lost Mode can also enable the AirTag to communicate with other iPhones in the vicinity to relay its location back to you.
What About Privacy? Is This a SpyTag?
Apple says the AirTag is design to keep your location details private and secure.
“No location data or location history is physically stored inside AirTag,” the company says. “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.”
Still, we can't help but wonder if AirTag could be exploited as a spying device. The accessory is so small it could be easily slipped into someone's backpack or purse without their knowledge. But it appears Apple did come up with a safeguard for that scenario.
"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," the company says. "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."
We'll have to reserve judgment until we get an AirTag into PC Labs for testing.
Rugged and Personalized
Each AirTag is polished with stainless steel and has an IP67 rating, so it can be submerged in a pool of shallow water for up to 30 minutes. It also features a removable cover for easy access to change out the battery. Buyers can add a personalized engraving on the device, too.
“AirTag features the same magical setup experience as AirPods—just bring AirTag close to iPhone and it will connect,” the company says. “Users can assign AirTag to an item and name it with a default like ‘Keys’ or ‘Jacket,’ or provide a custom name of their choosing.”
Each individual AirTag will appear in the Find My app under the Items tab. The same app will record the current or last known location for the AirTag.
Pre-orders for the AirTag start this Friday. The company plans on making the product available on April 30. AirTags can also be bought as a four-pack bundle for $99. In addition, the AirTags can be slid inside a leather or polyurethane key ring, but they'll cost you $29 to $39 each.