“There are three things we cry for in life; things that are lost, things that are found, and things that are magnificent” Douglas Coupland (Canadian Novelist and Artist) 

I am not a morning person. There isn’t a morning after a midweek footy night that I wouldn’t begrudgingly realise that I’ve left my things scattered throughout the house, with the meticulous strategy of a hide and seek champion.  Finding all of my daily essentials is quite the adventure, yesterday’s late-night Maccas run means my house keys are missing and I’m late enough as it is!

Apple’s first major event in 2021 introduced some typically useful advancements such as; improvements to the iPad Pro, a 5G iPhone 12, multi-coloured iMacs and the introduction of the Apple AirTag™, which in my humble opinion was by far the most practical and the one I couldn’t wait to adopt.

Losing keys is annoying. Losing anything is annoying. I wonder if the Apple AirTags were born out of an unfortunate situation where Tim Cook misplaced his Apple Park keys. I like to think he is as human (and disorganised) as us normal folk... I digress... I’ve excitedly been able to get my hands on these cool little (extremely useful) gadgets, in my opinion, one of the best accessories in Apples’ current inventory and here is my personal rundown. 

The Apple AirTags (really a ‘modified’ version of ‘Find my Phone’) cost A$45 each, or A$149 for a 4 pack. The AirTag has an in-built siren which can be activated from your iPhone 11 and 12 to locate the item it is matched to. This feature works best if you’re in the 10-15 metre range of the item in question however, getting within that range is made easier as the ‘precision finding’ app works as a compass to guide you to your AirTagged ‘lost’ item.

Now, these little beauties aren’t just for keys. You can also attach them to your luggage, bags, wallet or anything that you need to track down (as a paranoid cyclist, I will be affixing one to my bike, an additional security measure on top of my old school bike chain).  As a cool option, when you purchase your AirTag/s from the Apple website and App store, Apple gives you the option to have your initials or an emoji engraved on your AirTag!

The AirTag is powered by a coin-sized CR2032 battery, commonly found in watches and lasting about a year. I did find that the size of the AirTag may be a little thick for some wallets. Information on the tech-vine is that there are currently various case manufacturers working on new upgraded storage and portable carry accessories, expect to see plenty of customisable options in the coming months. 

What If you haven’t simply ‘misplaced’ your things around the house, but completely lost them outside of home or work?  This is what will give Apples’ AirTags a massive advantage from other bluetooth trackers you may have come across in the tech world. Activating your AirTags’ ‘Lost Mode’ will give you a notification if it is detected near a device anywhere on the network. You also have the option to set up your device with a message and Phone number, so if anyone discovers your lost AirTag they can simply tap their IOS or even android phone to identify and contact you as the owner!

All this sounds cool, but a little…creepy? Apple has obviously considered that a tracking device is something that can present some safety and privacy issues. Firstly, the AirTags do not store location information. Locations from the device to the AirTags is encrypted. 

Secondly, if another AirTag is attached to you or your belongings, your iPhone will be notified and send you an alert that a strangers’ AirTag is on you/ your stuff. If you still fail to find it, the AirTag will eventually begin to beep to let you know where it is on you. AirTags have been designed to be triggered only when they are separated from their paired device. If you are spending the day out with other AirTag holders, they won’t all start beeping through the day.

Apple has always looked for ways to innovate and AirTags are going to be a great way to keep your important belongings always within reach, no matter how ‘messy’ you are!

 

Anthony Sommariva is a self professed ‘tech-geek’ with a love of old fashioned cycling and books.