Today, at its Spring Loaded virtual product launch event, Apple introduced AirTags, the tracker tags that will compete with Tile and Samsung’s SmartTag. AirTags are small beacon-style devices that can help users find lost items like keys, backpacks, and more by tracking them with the Find My app. Apple AirTags are button-sized, lightweight stainless-steel discs that can be clipped onto keys or bags, for example, with a separate keychain. AirTags can also be used without a keychain by simply slipping them into whatever item(s) you wish to keep track of. The device is water and dust resistant with a removable cover that makes it easy to swap out the CR2032 battery, which promises a year’s worth of battery life with everyday use.
Using a feature called Precision Finding to create an overlay on a user’s iPhone to help find a lost item, AirTags use input data from the camera, accelerometer, and gyroscope to incorporate visual, haptic, and audible feedback while searching occurs. Apple CEO Tim Cook made a point to address any privacy and security concerns with the AirTags. According to Cook, “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.” Starting on April 23rd, preorders can be made for the AirTag with the general sale for the tracker tags beginning on April 30th. The new tech runs $29 per tag or $99 for a four-pack.
For more news from Apple’s Spring Loaded event, check out the new iMac with 4.5K Display.