Rolling Square AirCard & AirCard E with Find My -- Hands on

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2023
After failing to materialize in 2022, Rolling Square is committed to launching two Find My-enabled cards in 2023 -- and we got to check them out early.

AirCard & AirCard E
AirCard & AirCard E


Rolling Square offers a wide variety of Apple-centric accessories. The Chipolo Card Spot or Rolling Square's offering were competing to be the first Find My-enabled wallet tracker to hit the market.

The company tells us that manufacturing woes led to a delayed launch, so "first" didn't quite work out. Now they are ready with two different versions of its Find My tracker that received their official MFi certification via Apple.

While at CES 2023, Rolling Square had both models on display, and we got to try them out ahead of the final launch.

Find My app
Find My app


Originally, Rolling Square had one Find My card promised that included a replaceable battery. Now, the company has revamped that version but is also releasing a unique model with a non-replaceable battery.

Swappable batteries

Like last year's, the Rolling Square AirCard E has user-replaceable batteries. This is easy to do, with a battery compartment that holds a trio of CR2016 cell batteries.

AirCard E aluminum back
AirCard E metal back


A sliding lock opens AirCard E and allows the two halves to separate. Even with the user-replaceable batteries, Rolling Square got the card thinner than last year's, going from 2.8mm to 2.6mm, or roughly the size of two credit cards.

One side of the card allows the Bluetooth signal to pass through its ABS plastic frame, and the other is metal. The metal side is anodized aluminum to give the card a solid, premium feel.

AirCard E front
AirCard E front


It still has a speaker, this time 126dB, so it can be triggered when you need to find it, and it packs all other Find My accessories such as worldwide tracking, left behind alerts, and anti-stalking alerts.

The standard AirCard

The standard version of Rolling Square's AirCard lacks the swappable batteries but boasts other features to make up for it.

AirCard glass back
AirCard glass back


This card model still has a CNC metal body on one side, but the other is clear, drawing inspiration from the Nothing phone. The clear side uses 9H hardened glass that will prevent scratches.

You can see all the internal workings of the card with the clear side and Rolling Square labels some such parts, reminding us of the schematic-like Grid frames.

Unfortunately, because of the updated design, the speaker is slightly quieter at only 114db. If buried in your wallet, which is then buried in a couch or pile of clothes, it could be harder to hear than initially intended.

What will also set the AirCard apart is its digital business card features. One side has a scannable QR code, while the other has an NFC chip. By tapping the card, you can open up a pre-defined link.

AirCard NFC
AirCard NFC tag


This is similar to POPL in that you could use it as a business card, a social media site, a LinkTree landing page, and more. Rolling Square says this should remain tappable, even while inside your wallet.

The NFC portion is recessed on the aluminum side of the card and is covered in another small piece of glass. The QR code is the fallback for devices that cannot scan the NFC tag.

On this version of the AirCard, the battery will last two and a half years, at which point you'll need to recycle your card and purchase a new one. Rolling Square offers a 50% discount when you return your old card for recycling and purchase a new one.

AirCard and Wallet
AirCard with wallet


Both versions of the AirCard are expected to be released later this year. AppleInisder will have reviews at launch. You can learn more on Rolling Square's site.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 820member
    Andrew, any comments on thickness compared to the Chipolo card spot, which I still find to be somewhat thicker than ideal. Also, from the look of the photos, it appears that the Aircard E is thinner than the standard Aircard... is that true or just the angle of the photos? I would have expected the E version to be thicker to accommodate user replaceable batteries. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 6
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    Do these work with the iPhone’s U1 chip for precise locating?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 6
    I must be missing something with find my. Earlier this evening I spent 10 minutes walking round the house with my iPhone 14 Pro trying to find my AirPods Pro’s. Find my said they were last seen in my house two days ago. It suggested I keep moving around. Play sound, or find nearby didn’t show up anything. 

    eventually I realised I had the AirPods with me the whole time in another pocket. Doh! I opened the case and got a whole load of notifications and beeps. Too late! 

    This echoes my previous experience, find my just doesn’t seem to help find stuff, apart from things like iPads, MacBooks, powered on iMac’s, it just shows where stuff was last seen. What am I missing?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 6
    I must be missing something with find my. Earlier this evening I spent 10 minutes walking round the house with my iPhone 14 Pro trying to find my AirPods Pro’s. Find my said they were last seen in my house two days ago. It suggested I keep moving around. Play sound, or find nearby didn’t show up anything. 

    eventually I realised I had the AirPods with me the whole time in another pocket. Doh! I opened the case and got a whole load of notifications and beeps. Too late! 

    This echoes my previous experience, find my just doesn’t seem to help find stuff, apart from things like iPads, MacBooks, powered on iMac’s, it just shows where stuff was last seen. What am I missing?
    I think some AirPods are defective.  I had a similar experience - lost my AirPods at a hotel, did the "Find My" and it said last known location was at hotel.  Searched my room, the conference room I was in, and the restaurant and nothing.  The pairing on them didn't always work flawlessly.  Got home and bought new set at Costco.  The new set pairing worked 100% and the Find My functionality also worked.  After about a week I discovered my old pair at the bottom of my backpack and they were still fully charged.  I think the pairing problems and the Find My failure are related.  I returned the new pair but won't be that upset when the old ones finally kick the bucket.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 6
    I must be missing something with find my. Earlier this evening I spent 10 minutes walking round the house with my iPhone 14 Pro trying to find my AirPods Pro’s. Find my said they were last seen in my house two days ago. It suggested I keep moving around. Play sound, or find nearby didn’t show up anything. 

    eventually I realised I had the AirPods with me the whole time in another pocket. Doh! I opened the case and got a whole load of notifications and beeps. Too late! 

    This echoes my previous experience, find my just doesn’t seem to help find stuff, apart from things like iPads, MacBooks, powered on iMac’s, it just shows where stuff was last seen. What am I missing?
    I think some AirPods are defective.  I had a similar experience - lost my AirPods at a hotel, did the "Find My" and it said last known location was at hotel.  Searched my room, the conference room I was in, and the restaurant and nothing.  The pairing on them didn't always work flawlessly.  Got home and bought new set at Costco.  The new set pairing worked 100% and the Find My functionality also worked.  After about a week I discovered my old pair at the bottom of my backpack and they were still fully charged.  I think the pairing problems and the Find My failure are related.  I returned the new pair but won't be that upset when the old ones finally kick the bucket.
    I see what you're saying. However, I just tried to Find My AirPods Pro just now. They are in the next room and after a minute the phone said they were Far away. As I moved towards them it changed to Near and then Here (No Direction arrow U1 stuff). 

    So, mine can be found, but not when they're really lost! I wonder if it's a timeout thing? Previously it had been 2 days since I last used them; this time less than 1 day... Maybe they only stay findable for a while? I Googled this idea, but didn't find anteing supporting my guess.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    maltzmaltz Posts: 453member
    charlesn said:
    Andrew, any comments on thickness compared to the Chipolo card spot, which I still find to be somewhat thicker than ideal. Also, from the look of the photos, it appears that the Aircard E is thinner than the standard Aircard... is that true or just the angle of the photos? I would have expected the E version to be thicker to accommodate user replaceable batteries. 

    The Chipolo article says it's 2.4mm.  This article says the Aircard E is 2.6mm, which is pretty good for having replaceable 1.6mm 2016 batteries in there.  Kind of a big oversight that it doesn't say how thick the standard Aircard is, since that is one of the primary features of these devices.  Though I'm not too keen on having a pane of glass in my wallet, so I probably wouldn't get that one anyway...
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