The AirTags are an extremely first-generation Apple product.
In other words theyre well-designed, exciting, and… flawed.
Did I want one as soon as I saw them?
But am I confused about how it fits into my daily life?
So far, so Apple.
Unless youre constantly losing stuff in your house.
Then knock yourself out.
Even better,weve made a video all about this too.
you’re able to watch that at the top of the page.And also here.
What is an AirTag?
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Its a location tracker.
How big is an AirTag?
Its about the size of a thick button, roughly 3cm by 3cm.
AirTags weigh 11 grams, which is roughly the same as a AAA battery.
Whats the design of the AirTags like?
Returning to one of the themes of this article, the AirTags have a veryAppledesign.
They fit in smoothly with the companys aesthetics, are sleek, and well-made.
Basically, everything youd expect from Apple.
it’s possible for you to add initials or emoji to the white side of an AirTag.
I do think Apple missed a few tricks with the design though.
This though, is probably a sales strategy.
Or maybe AirTags Pro.
While were talking about design, another downside of the AirTags is how easily they get scuffed up.
Well, the AirTags havean IP67 rating.
This means theyll survive being submerged in clean water to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes.
And how much will they set us back?
A single AirTag sells for $29.
A pack of four costs $99.
Yep, theres no way to easily attach an AirTag to anything without an accessory.
Theres no hole or anything similar in the rig,despite this being totally possible.
Theres no way this is anything but a business tactic.
How does an AirTag work?
Both very well and… kinda not?
Ill get to that.
First lets talk about what works well, like the set-up.
Whats it like setting an AirTag up?
And how does using AirTags actually work?
Effectively, the AirTag works through the Find My app and connection.
Now, if youve lost an AirTag, you could find it in three main ways.
Im going to organize these by distance, starting with when youre closest to the AirTag.
The first way of locating Apples tracker is with the oft-discussed precision finding feature.
And you know what?
This bit is fucking awesome.
Finding your AirTags like this is just plain fun.
The issue is that the range is somewhat patchy.
But this figure dropped rapidly if it was in another room or hidden behind a thick object.
And what about the third way of finding an AirTag?
Basically, this uses Apples Find My web connection.
In its marketing materials, Apple claims there are a billion of its devices being used across the world.
The idea is that when your AirTag comes close to one, that location is marked on your map.
To clarify, only it’s possible for you to see the location of your AirTag on the map.
There are two: privacy and use cases.
Whats the issue with privacy?
Now, before we begin, we should clarify this.
To be fair to Apple, it has done things to counter this.
Thing is this is currently three full days.
And the functionality is basically non-existent on Android.
I mean, thats not much longer than a work day.
Hell,the recent updateshows that these campaigns work.
What about the other issue with AirTags?
This is the thing: I dont really get the point of the AirTags.
If you constantly lose your keys or bagin your house, then the trackers make sense.
Lets explore the idea of something getting stolen.
Also, because theres no GPS, you cant get real time tracking of a lost item.
In other words, AirTags arent designed to stop or track thieves.
How helpful are AirTags with finding lost items though?
In my experience, when a lost item appears on the Find My map screen it isnt that accurate.
It tells you theroughlocation of an item, but its far from precise.
Ive found its useful to think of losing your keys at a shopping mall.
It takes fucking forever.
What would it take for the AirTag to be a killer bit of kit?
In my mind, something like GPS support.
This would make AirTags actually useful as trackers.
But with this comes more problems: specifically, battery life and even more privacy issues.
Currently, youd need a separate AirTag for each person on the hardware.
Where you’re able to find any of these items simply using your phone.
That, friends, is what I believe the future holds.
And Im here for it.
What are your final thoughts on the AirTags?
Id go so far to say theyre cool as fuck.
But the AirTags are also inherently flawed.
I love the idea of them and think theyre well designed, but I just dont use them much.
In fact, its been a couple of weeks since I opened the Find My app.
To be fair, I do feel protected on some level by having them attached to my keys.
But do I believe I could easily find my keys if I did lose them?
But it is better than nothing.
In many ways, this is how Ive felt about a lot of first generation Apple products.
And I have no doubt the AirTags will take a similar trajectory theyre just not there yet.
