[libranof1987]

Very impressed by this device tbh. Real world, everyday usage will determine how useful and efficient it is, for everyday use. But I see tremendous use cases for such a device.

[Djay]

Originally Posted by sunilg33

One such use which came to my mind is car tracking. Since the device size itself is so small it can easily be hidden in a car. So in case of car theft, there are good chances of tracking the same. All it needs is to come across a user with an iPhone 11 or 12 in its Bluetooth range, and voila! you have your vehicle location.

Sincerely thanks for this idea! Honestly I hadn't thought of it even if I was planning to purchase Airtags for other use. I think this is absolutely perfect. Its very easy to hide. Heck, it can be even hidden in a car seat. I am even thinking of sticking under my bike seat. And it has a life of 1-1.5 years with no charging or plugging required etc. Just stick it and forget it.

I can even think of a use case to find a car / bike in huge multi-storied parking lots.

And with Apple's proven technology with FindMy, and considering their architecture, this will work really well I am sure. Also considering Apple, 3k for a tag is not at all bad. Also the battery can be replaced with any other standard battery (presumably similar to car key cells).

[amitwiz1]

Reviews for the AirTag have come in and based on how the privacy features were designed, this does not seem to be suitable for theft detection. AirTags that are separated from its owner device for more than three days will start beeping once moved. Second, if a thief happens to have a compatible iPhone, they will be notified about "an AirTag moving with the iPhone".

Details here.

[rrsteer]

Just bought one of these from the Apple India website. I was looking for something like this for a long time. Instead of a wallet I carry a pouch and have a habit of forgetting where I keep it. Mostly I loose it at home and I have wasted so much time just finding my pouch.
First Apple product that I really really liked from the get go - right when I read the first sentence about it, which was this thread.

[51morris]

Originally Posted by sunilg33

There are definitely major privacy concerns about this as it can be easily used to spy on you. Apple has promised to take care of this and I believe they will have the necessary checks for it.

Apple has in fact thought about this. Just watch the review from MKBHD and he explains how Apple has handled this.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Mountainman21

It has bluetooth, however, it's functionality is based on GPS tracking (which is free for everyone) and not on bluetooth (unless you put it in lost mode, then it will try to search for nearby iPhones).
it is a fairly simple tech and is being used already by many other brands including some schools which give out these tags for students which can be tracked by parents as well.

You could not be more wrong. How do you think the tag would transmit GPS location information without an active data network? How would you put it in lost mode if you cant send that signal to the tag itself?

[Turbanator]

I asked my son, and here’s what he has to say

Air tags are compatible with all any iOS device running 14.5. You just need the iPhone 11 or 12 for precision finding, since those phones have the U1 chip for precise location. But you still get a gps range with older devices.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

How do you think the tag would transmit GPS location information without an active data network?

Using the nearest iOS device, I believe.

[Mountainman21]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

You could not be more wrong. How do you think the tag would transmit GPS location information without an active data network? How would you put it in lost mode if you cant send that signal to the tag itself?

GPS Tech is older than Mobile network. GPS Tech is not dependent on data network. You can read up on this. I am 100% sure on this as I have already done multiple projects in this Industry.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Mountainman21

GPS Tech is older than Mobile network. GPS Tech is not dependent on data network. You can read up on this. I am 100% sure on this as I have already done multiple projects in this Industry.

The "GPS Tech" you talk about is passive - receiving signals from satellites. It is up to you to process that signal and derive useful information (eg: your position) from those signals. Assuming you have done just that, you also need to let other interested parties know the outcome of such processing - for which you need a data network.

In other words, most consumer utility of GPS tech happens only when it is combined with a data network.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Using the nearest iOS device, I believe.

I know, I asked because there was misconception in the post above regarding gps and how airtags work. Thanks.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Mountainman21

GPS Tech is older than Mobile network. GPS Tech is not dependent on data network. You can read up on this. I am 100% sure on this as I have already done multiple projects in this Industry.

Data network is not required for GPS triangulation (although it can make the process of triangulation faster) but once you have triangulated your position, you need a data network to send that information through to anyone who needs it.

The Airtags does not even have GPS nor does it need it and the genius of Airtags is in how they send that information to the end user without any data connection. If any iPhone or Apple device comes into the vicinity of an airtags, it relays that information via that iDevice to Apple's FindMy service which then relays it to the end user. In essence every iDevice out there is a passive data and location carrier for the airtag.

[Mountainman21]

Originally Posted by binand

In other words, most consumer utility of GPS tech happens only when it is combined with a data network.

Yes, you are correct most consumer utility happens when you combine with data, but since we are discussing primarily Apple Tags here which does not have e-sim to use it to transmit data. It gets positioning using GPS and when it is in vicinity of parent Phone it will ping using bluetooth and when not in vicinity of paired phone then piggy back on other nearby iPhones.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

The Airtags does not even have GPS nor does it need it and the genius of Airtags is in how they send that information to the end user without any data connection. If any iPhone or Apple device comes into the vicinity of an airtags, it relays that information via that iDevice to Apple's FindMy service which then relays it to the end user. In essence every iDevice out there is a passive data and location carrier for the airtag.

I believe we are on same page, earlier I presumed your question implied that airtags have data built in them hence I wanted to clarify that they work on GPS triangulation and then convey that using bluetooth instead of data network.

[Djay]

Originally Posted by amitwiz1

Reviews for the AirTag have come in and based on how the privacy features were designed, this does not seem to be suitable for theft detection. AirTags that are separated from its owner device for more than three days will start beeping once moved. Second, if a thief happens to have a compatible iPhone, they will be notified about "an AirTag moving with the iPhone".

I am quite relieved it’s 3 days and not a few hours. 3 days is decent time to track a stolen car/bike as long as it’s in same/nearby city. Only limitation is if you are out of town for a long time and the robber breaks into the car after 3 days from it’s parked location. But then you just have to hope the thief gets scared by the beeps and runs away . Or at least drives off without finding the airtag, so you can at least remotely find that the car has moved.

Also for the robber to get the notification, he needs to have an iPhone 11/12 with iOS 14.5+. Honestly this will be very rare for robbers targeting cheaper cars and two wheelers at least (which is my use case )

I know there are GPS tracking devices etc., but this seems to be an easier, no setup required, low maintenance hack for iOS owners.

[Godzilla]

A detailed video on how it works for a vehicle.

https://youtu.be/vjLbxywixro

https://youtu.be/mRHqlKnRMUI

[binand]

Some privacy concerns about Airtags, raised by various watchdog organisations and amplified by CNN:

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/05/t...rns/index.html