Apple AirTag
Can Apple’s location tracker rival Tile?
Apple’s long-awaited locationtracking device, AirTag has finally been made official, and while it may be small, it’s likely to prove invaluable if you’re a serial loser of keys, wallets, and the like.
As well as emitting an electronic beep when you can’t locate a tagged item, if an AirTag is paired with an iPhone 11 or above you can get accurate directions to the item using the Find My app. Called Precision Finding, the feature utilises the iPhone’s accelerometer, camera, and gyroscope to provide on-screen directions, your current distance from the AirTag, and haptic feedback when you get close to locating it.
Apple’s Find My device network can also be harnessed to help reunite you with an AirTag that you deem lost rather than misplaced: just put the AirTag into Lost mode, and if another device in the network passes by the AirTag, you’ll get an anonymous update on its location. You can also assign a phone number to a lost AirTag, so if it’s found by a member of the public they can tap it using their iPhone or any NFC-enabled device to display the phone number and get in touch with you.
Apple has also put a lot of thought into privacy, and has put several measures in place to ensure that AirTags can’t be misused. This means you can’t activate an AirTag on behalf of someone else, and your iPhone, iPad or other iOS devices can identify if an unknown AirTag is travelling around with you, alerting you that the owner can see your location. On top of that, the AirTag will draw attention to itself by playing a sound if it’s been separated from its owner for a long period of time but still moves location.
If someone borrows an item to which an AirTag is attached, and they’re getting an unknown AirTag alert, they can choose to pause these alerts for a day or indefinitely if the AirTag is registered to an Apple ID that’s a member of your family sharing group.
The disc-shaped tracker can be slipped into a wallet or bag, but if you want to attach it to keys or other items you’ll have to purchase an optional key fob or loop that it slots into; however, these will set you back the same price, and in some cases more, than the AirTag itself, meaning an AirTag certainly isn’t the most affordable location tracker on the market. And, like many Apple products, it only works with iOS devices.
However, if you’re regularly forgetting where you left your keys or wallet, or just want the peace of mind that you could quickly find a misplaced item, then an AirTag will be a sensible purchase.
The Apple AirTags are an invaluable and easy-to-use tool for reuniting you with your misplaced possessions. They’re simple to set up and use, and the Precision Finding feature can help you quickly locate misplaced items. Apple has paid plenty of attention to privacy to ensure the location trackers can’t be misused, too.
Carrie Skinner