Apple Airtag = Genius Idea!

[baudkarma]

If you don't know what an Airtag is, it's a little $30 gizmo that Apple started selling a few months ago. You can attach it to something and track where that thing is from your phone or if your phone is the thing you're looking for, you can go to the Apple website and see it on a map there. Put an Airtag on your keys, and you can find them if you lose them accidentally or just don't remember where you put them. Put on in your car, and you can find it easily in the busiest, most crowded parking lot. Toss one under the spare tire of your girlfriends car, and you can keep track of everywhere she goes without having to get up from your couch. Sure, she says she's going to the club to work out, or meeting up with her best friend for lunch, but can you really be sure? Isn't peace of mind worth $29?

[warriorfan]

They have had these for years

[baudkarma]

They have had these for years

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/airtags/

"Apple in April 2021 unveiled its long awaited AirTag"

Other item trackers use bluetooth. They're not part of a larger network, so you can only locate the tagged item if it's in bluetooth range of your smartphone. The AirTag sends updated location information every time it passes within range of an Iphone. Given the number of Iphones out there, range isn't an issue. You can sit on your couch and track something that's 20 miles away, in real time.

[Patrick Chewing]

Thank you for this! I will use these in conjunction with the tracking device I already have in my girlfriend's car.

[eliteballer]

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/airtags/

"Apple in April 2021 unveiled its long awaited AirTag"

Other item trackers use bluetooth. They're not part of a larger network, so you can only locate the tagged item if it's in bluetooth range of your smartphone. The AirTag sends updated location information every time it passes within range of an Iphone. Given the number of Iphones out there, range isn't an issue. You can sit on your couch and track something that's 20 miles away, in real time.

They’ve had stuff like this on Amazon for years.

[Axe]

They have had these for years
And you will never be able to afford them at all through conventional means, no matter how hard you try.

[baudkarma]

They’ve had stuff like this on Amazon for years.

No, not really. Conventional trackers rely on Bluetooth if the object is in range. If it's out of range, you can send out a tracking alert, but that only works if someone who has the app installed and running on their phone passes within range of your lost device. Market penetration for something like Tile is pretty weak. How many of you have the Tile app installed on your phone? What about one of their competitors? Nobody? Not surprised.

Apple is turning every iPhone in the world into a tracking device. You don't have to own an AirTag, just owning an IPhone turns you into a tracking station. That is orders of magnitude more trackers than their competitors. You could go into a busy supermarket and not run into a single person who has a Tile device app installed on their phone. But you'll run into dozens of people who have an iPhone, and each and every one of them will be sending the location of your tracker. Regardless of whether the owner of the phone agreed to it, or is even aware of it. Apple hasn't been exactly transparent about this, or has offered a way to opt out.