Leaker shares final Apple 'AirTags' design in leaked pairing animation video

AppleInsider

The unreleased Apple "AirTags" have appeared in a short animation that a leaker claims is the pairing video that plays when setting up your new tracker.

'AirTags' image concept from Front Page Tech

Known leaker Jon Prosser has shared another video with some new details about Apple's missing Tile competitor. "AirTags" have been rumored since Apple introduced ultra wide band (UWB) to the iPhone 11 lineup.

The short clip shows the "AirTags" spinning in an animation similar to what is shown when pairing AirPods to your iPhone. This gives us our first 360 degree view of the device from an alleged official source. Prosser has provided concept images before based on leaked video, but this is the first time seeing the design in its final form.

The first look at alleged official 'AirTags' design. Image Credit: Front Page Tech

The design is simple with a white-rounded back and a silver front with an Apple logo. It looks similar to a watch battery with a slight hump on the back.

The "AirTags" will use other Apple devices in a private network to track down your lost device. Similar to how Tile works, user privacy and data will be protected.

Apple's U1 processor equipped with UWB is expected to be utilized in "AirTags" for location within a few inches of precision. AR location finding features have also been discovered in previous iOS versions.

Apple 'AirTags' tracking tool final design shown in animation. Image Credit: Front Page Tech

Prosser asserts that the "AirTags" have been ready to ship for a while, but haven't shipped due to the pandemic. Apple is waiting for a time to release when people may actually want a device to locate lost objects, which isn't something you'd need if you are not leaving your house regularly. In his video, Prosser suggests a spring release is likely and his insiders agree.

cg27

People may not be leaving home as often as they used to but my dog still tries to run out to chase birds and squirrels so he’ll be the first of many anticipated use cases for me.

Xed

cg27 said:

People may not be leaving home as often as they used to but my dog still tries to run out to chase birds and squirrels so he’ll be the first of many anticipated use cases for me.

I'd like to get a good picture of where the cats go when they venture outside. Are they not coming back when I call them because they don't care (even if I have food) or are they so far away that they can't hear me? I assume it's the former, but I'd like to know for sure.

Rayz2016

Xed said:

cg27 said:

People may not be leaving home as often as they used to but my dog still tries to run out to chase birds and squirrels so he’ll be the first of many anticipated use cases for me.

I'd like ti get a good picture of where the cats go when they venture outside. Are they not coming back when I call them because they don't care what I what (even if I have food) or are they so far away that they can't hear me? I assume it's the former, but I'd like to know for sure.

These would solve so many cat mysteries.

I'd like to know when the doorbell goes, how come there is only the cat there when I open the door. (I reckon he waits for the postman, who rings the doorbell if the cat meows at him).

To answer your question: they don't come when you call because they're ungrateful creatures. You can tell by looking at the state of your carpets.

OutdoorAppDeveloper

That design can't be right. One side has to be flat to mount the tag to a surface. I hope there is more to the AirTag than simply being a Tile competitor. There are now Bluetooth tags that have built in GPS receivers and talk to each other in a mesh network. They are used to track moving equipment at airports and other places. Add a camera, microphone and a solar charger and they would make excellent security devices.

Xed

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:

That design can't be right. One side has to be flat to mount the tag to a surface.

From what I've seen from this common leak/mockup is that the metal side is flat and with a small lip so that that its edge cen hold many different type of 1st and 3rd part objects, like keychains, with ease.

I hope there is more to the AirTag than simply being a Tile competitor. There are now Bluetooth tags that have built in GPS receivers and talk to each other in a mesh network. They are used to track moving equipment at airports and other places. Add a camera, microphone and a solar charger and they would make excellent security devices.

Can you post these other "Bluetooth tags" that have all these features in the size and price range of Tile? I can easily see how larger equipment can be tracked at an airport with accuracy, but I can't see how those can be with easily pocketable devices whose batteries last for month. Airplanes use ADS-B Out to send their locations and that's not being used by ground vehicles at airport, but these aren't small, inexpensive, or using BT.

https://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.current/documentnumber/150_5220-26

urahara

Xed said:

cg27 said:

People may not be leaving home as often as they used to but my dog still tries to run out to chase birds and squirrels so he’ll be the first of many anticipated use cases for me.

I'd like to get a good picture of where the cats go when they venture outside. Are they not coming back when I call them because they don't care (even if I have food) or are they so far away that they can't hear me? I assume it's the former, but I'd like to know for sure.

They are far away because they don’t care. 

thrang

wouldn't you need some slot or hole to be able4 to fasten the Tag to non-magnetic surfaces?

OutdoorAppDeveloper

Xed said:

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:

That design can't be right. One side has to be flat to mount the tag to a surface.

From what I've seen from this common leak/mockup is that the metal side is flat and with a small lip so that that its edge cen hold many different type of 1st and 3rd part objects, like keychains, with ease.

I hope there is more to the AirTag than simply being a Tile competitor. There are now Bluetooth tags that have built in GPS receivers and talk to each other in a mesh network. They are used to track moving equipment at airports and other places. Add a camera, microphone and a solar charger and they would make excellent security devices.

Can you post these other "Bluetooth tags" that have all these features in the size and price range of Tile? I can easily see how larger equipment can be tracked at an airport with accuracy, but I can't see how those can be with easily pocketable devices whose batteries last for month. Airplanes use ADS-B Out to send their locations and that's not being used by ground vehicles at airport, but these aren't small, inexpensive, or using BT.

https://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.current/documentnumber/150_5220-26

They are larger, obviously. The point is that Bluetooth tags can do a lot more than ping their ID. Here is an example:
https://www.digitalmatter.com/applications/bluetooth-asset-tracking/

cornchip

AppleInsider said:

The design is simple with a white-rounded back and a silver front with an Apple logo. It looks similar to a watch battery with a slight hump on the back.

I’m not on Apple’s design or marketing team, but wouldn’t the bulbous white shell part be the “front” and the metal disk be the “back”? 

Or am I missing something?

Edit: any thoughts on how old of devices these would be compatible with? Only 11 & up?

hexclock

Any idea what the dimensions of these might be?

svanstrom

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:

Xed said:

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:

That design can't be right. One side has to be flat to mount the tag to a surface.

From what I've seen from this common leak/mockup is that the metal side is flat and with a small lip so that that its edge cen hold many different type of 1st and 3rd part objects, like keychains, with ease.

I hope there is more to the AirTag than simply being a Tile competitor. There are now Bluetooth tags that have built in GPS receivers and talk to each other in a mesh network. They are used to track moving equipment at airports and other places. Add a camera, microphone and a solar charger and they would make excellent security devices.

Can you post these other "Bluetooth tags" that have all these features in the size and price range of Tile? I can easily see how larger equipment can be tracked at an airport with accuracy, but I can't see how those can be with easily pocketable devices whose batteries last for month. Airplanes use ADS-B Out to send their locations and that's not being used by ground vehicles at airport, but these aren't small, inexpensive, or using BT.

https://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.current/documentnumber/150_5220-26

They are larger, obviously. The point is that Bluetooth tags can do a lot more than ping their ID. Here is an example:
https://www.digitalmatter.com/applications/bluetooth-asset-tracking/

So you are seriously disappointed with a Tile competitor on day one leveraging the whole Apple ecosystem, simply because Apple didn't also magically make a device bigger than an iPhone fit into a coin-sized device?

Are you actually serious about that?

fastasleep

The design is simple with a white-rounded back and a silver front with an Apple logo. It looks similar to a watch battery with a slight hump on the back.

Uh, you're clearly mixing up the front and back.

Xed

fastasleep said:

The design is simple with a white-rounded back and a silver front with an Apple logo. It looks similar to a watch battery with a slight hump on the back.

Uh, you're clearly mixing up the front and back.

I agree. It reminds of iMac G4's bottom cover.

fastasleep

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:
That design can't be right. One side has to be flat to mount the tag to a surface. I hope there is more to the AirTag than simply being a Tile competitor. There are now Bluetooth tags that have built in GPS receivers and talk to each other in a mesh network. They are used to track moving equipment at airports and other places. Add a camera, microphone and a solar charger and they would make excellent security devices.

The metal side is flat. Did you watch the video? 

All rumors point to these determining location from other users' iOS devices, which *checks notes* have GPS. Did you watch the video?

But your Homer Car device idea sounds really Apple-like. 🙄

fastasleep

hexclock said:

Any idea what the dimensions of these might be?

Rumors suggest about the size of a bottle cap.

Xed

cornchip said:

AppleInsider said:

The design is simple with a white-rounded back and a silver front with an Apple logo. It looks similar to a watch battery with a slight hump on the back.

I’m not on Apple’s design or marketing team, but wouldn’t the bulbous white shell part be the “front” and the metal disk be the “back”? 

Or am I missing something?

Edit: any thoughts on how old of devices these would be compatible with? Only 11 & up?

My guess is that it would be the iPhone 11 and up due to the Apple UI chip with UWB.

svanstrom

cornchip said:

AppleInsider said:

The design is simple with a white-rounded back and a silver front with an Apple logo. It looks similar to a watch battery with a slight hump on the back.

I’m not on Apple’s design or marketing team, but wouldn’t the bulbous white shell part be the “front” and the metal disk be the “back”? 

Or am I missing something?

Edit: any thoughts on how old of devices these would be compatible with? Only 11 & up?

The compatibility is actually more down to a business and/or functionality decision rather than the tech itself…

In theory any device with bluetooth could be good enough; with some features that one might want to require starting with the iPhone 4S.

However, practically we are pretty much assuming that an AirTag-device would one way or another be related to the Apple U1-chip; which would mean the devices listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple-designed_processors#U_series_list.

What isn't listed there is of course the AirPods Max; which is where the guessing game becomes a bit extra muddled, and here's why. Since the AirPods Max has other features allowing it to keep track of where it is it appears like Apple won't make it a pure hardware-thingie to locate devices physically. So there seems like they're betting on an abstraction layer that sort of is technology agnostic. If that's the case they could potentially make the core technology available on any device compatible with the latest OS, assuming that's how they chose to launch AirTag-compatibility. Some devices would just not be able to show direction to the lost device, only distance.

So at the end of they day we don't really know until something actually is released; but "11 & up" seems like a safe bet when it comes to the iPhones.

Edit: By safe bet I mean that there's no reason to go upgrade in anticipation of an AirTag launch if you're currently on an 11 (or better) iPhone. But personally I'm on an Xs Max, and on the fence about the 12 Pro Max; and I would really like a Tile-like device leveraging the whole Apple ecosystem. So it could get expensive. 

bestkeptsecret

Xed said:

cg27 said:

People may not be leaving home as often as they used to but my dog still tries to run out to chase birds and squirrels so he’ll be the first of many anticipated use cases for me.

I'd like to get a good picture of where the cats go when they venture outside. Are they not coming back when I call them because they don't care (even if I have food) or are they so far away that they can't hear me? I assume it's the former, but I'd like to know for sure.

Rayz2016 said:

Xed said:

cg27 said:

People may not be leaving home as often as they used to but my dog still tries to run out to chase birds and squirrels so he’ll be the first of many anticipated use cases for me.

I'd like ti get a good picture of where the cats go when they venture outside. Are they not coming back when I call them because they don't care what I what (even if I have food) or are they so far away that they can't hear me? I assume it's the former, but I'd like to know for sure.

These would solve so many cat mysteries.

I'd like to know when the doorbell goes, how come there is only the cat there when I open the door. (I reckon he waits for the postman, who rings the doorbell if the cat meows at him).

To answer your question: they don't come when you call because they're ungrateful creatures. You can tell by looking at the state of your carpets.

I take it you guys haven't read Neil Gaiman's Sandman series? Cats meet up every night to determine how to overthrow their human overlords!

Rayz2016

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:

Xed said:

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:

That design can't be right. One side has to be flat to mount the tag to a surface.

From what I've seen from this common leak/mockup is that the metal side is flat and with a small lip so that that its edge cen hold many different type of 1st and 3rd part objects, like keychains, with ease.

I hope there is more to the AirTag than simply being a Tile competitor. There are now Bluetooth tags that have built in GPS receivers and talk to each other in a mesh network. They are used to track moving equipment at airports and other places. Add a camera, microphone and a solar charger and they would make excellent security devices.

Can you post these other "Bluetooth tags" that have all these features in the size and price range of Tile? I can easily see how larger equipment can be tracked at an airport with accuracy, but I can't see how those can be with easily pocketable devices whose batteries last for month. Airplanes use ADS-B Out to send their locations and that's not being used by ground vehicles at airport, but these aren't small, inexpensive, or using BT.

https://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.current/documentnumber/150_5220-26

They are larger, obviously. The point is that Bluetooth tags can do a lot more than ping their ID. Here is an example:
https://www.digitalmatter.com/applications/bluetooth-asset-tracking/

So just to be clear, these conveniently-sized, unobtrusive devices are what you’re arguing as an alternative. 

My cat isn’t going to wear that. 

Mrs Ray2016 is not going to use that as a key fob. 

sailorpaul

Rayz2016 said:

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:

Xed said:

OutdoorAppDeveloper said:

That design can't be right. One side has to be flat to mount the tag to a surface.

From what I've seen from this common leak/mockup is that the metal side is flat and with a small lip so that that its edge cen hold many different type of 1st and 3rd part objects, like keychains, with ease.

I hope there is more to the AirTag than simply being a Tile competitor. There are now Bluetooth tags that have built in GPS receivers and talk to each other in a mesh network....
 ..... to send their locations and that's not being used by ground vehicles at airport, but these aren't small, inexpensive, or using BT.

https://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.current/documentnumber/150_5220-26

They are larger, obviously. The point is that Bluetooth tags can do a lot more than ping their ID. Here is an example:
https://www.digitalmatter.com/applications/bluetooth-asset-tracking/

So just to be clear, these conveniently-sized, unobtrusive devices are what you’re arguing as an alternative. 

My cat isn’t going to wear that. 

Mrs Ray2016 is not going to use that as a key fob. 

Get a bigger cat.
/s