New 'AirTag' screenshots reveal tweaked Find My app layout
Apple appears to be continuing work on Find My integration of its rumored "AirTag" trackers, according to a pair of newly leaked screenshots, suggesting the Tile-like device is nearing an official launch.
Image Credit: MacRumors
Apple has been working on a Tile-like wireless tracking, which we now believe to be named AirTags based off of a file in the iOS 13.2 AssetData folder.
Rumors of an Apple-produced tracker that works with the refreshed Find My app suggested Apple would move from just tracking lost Apple hardware, and into other items. "Tag" hardware references found in June first alluded to AirTags' existence, and hinted at adding Tile-like functionality to the app.
A MacRumors reader has discovered additional screenshots that show an updated AirTags section in Find My.
The screenshots show an updated Find My app with a bottom bar with "People," "Devices," "Items," and "Me." In the screenshots, the AirTags are still referred to by their codename, "B389."
Other screenshots show the AirTags setup process, which will consist of pulling the tab on the AirTag and bringing it within range of an iPhone.
These leaks suggest that AirTags could be coming soon, but it is not proof that they will. Back in September, the usually reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believed they would be released imminently.
Image Credit: MacRumors
Apple has been working on a Tile-like wireless tracking, which we now believe to be named AirTags based off of a file in the iOS 13.2 AssetData folder.
Rumors of an Apple-produced tracker that works with the refreshed Find My app suggested Apple would move from just tracking lost Apple hardware, and into other items. "Tag" hardware references found in June first alluded to AirTags' existence, and hinted at adding Tile-like functionality to the app.
A MacRumors reader has discovered additional screenshots that show an updated AirTags section in Find My.
The screenshots show an updated Find My app with a bottom bar with "People," "Devices," "Items," and "Me." In the screenshots, the AirTags are still referred to by their codename, "B389."
Other screenshots show the AirTags setup process, which will consist of pulling the tab on the AirTag and bringing it within range of an iPhone.
These leaks suggest that AirTags could be coming soon, but it is not proof that they will. Back in September, the usually reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believed they would be released imminently.
Comments
Apple ones may not be any better. It's the range the Bluetooth. If you're out of range, you can make them beep, etc. You'll get the last location your phone knows about. Say you leave your keys at home and go someplace. It will show your keys still at home. If you put your tile in a suitcase you can track it until it's out of range. At that point you need other people that are also using tile to be in range of your tile to update it's location. That suitcase is moving all over the place out of your range. Now if your keys fell out of your pocket while hiking. Your phone would know where it was last at. You can then head back that direction until your in Bluetooth range and set off the beeper and be able to hear it and find it.
If you misplace your phone, you can use the tracker to make your phone make a noise to track it also. There's also geofencing. If you get to far away from your phone, or you get to far away from your keys the alarm will start going off. So you don't forget your phone or keys, leaving them someplace.
Now Apple could have an advantage if it was supported on all phones in iOS, maybe. In the U.S. at least 50% of the phones are iPhones. In other parts of the world it may be less useful. All those Android phones that can't report to Apple when it see's a Apple Tag. If Apple limits it to only supporting the iPhone 11 and newer because of the speical chip they have, that really puts a limit on other iPhones being able to report back for a number of years. I wouldn't jump onto Apple tags anytime soon.
My first experience with Tile was pretty bad. A couple of generations ago they just had a bad design or so because they quickly went to the next generation that my wife and I were gifted for last Christmas and we found they worked much better. That being said though ...across 3 cars and keys we had to have two separate Tile accounts and logins. I could not find a clean way to manage everything under one account.
Then Tile Premium came and addressed none of the issues that my household was facing. I was hoping they were going to do something that TrackR tried to do and that was have a BT plugin device that gave you a better hint about the whereabouts of your lost device but instead Tile Premium delivers
Smart Alerts - Helping me not forget my stuff as I walk out of my home is kind of your raison d'être Tile.
Location History - Again, Find My Phone tells me where it last connected. The goal is always to prevent loss and assist in finding lost items.
When companies begin to wrap up features that should be standard features behind a premium paywall they deserve to have their lunch eaten. When Apple comes out with AirTags as my Tiles wear out they'll be replaced. I know that all of our stuff will be tracked under our Family Account and that eventually if not at launch we'll know exactly where in the house the missing item is. For Mac and iOS users with recent hardware Tile will essentially be a non-starter.