Although I have spent years and months locked up at home, I have experienced the terror of believing that I lost my wallet when I have the urge to go to pay for the order that has just arrived and I cannot find it. Worst? It ends up being right in the bag I’m carrying.
To respond to people like me, Apple released a button-sized accessory under the name AirTag that works to find those objects it was placed on.
This device, weighing only 11 grams, round in shape, is placed inside objects or hung from them through accessories such as key rings and tags for suitcases or leather and plastic backpacks.
To install it, it is necessary to do it with an iPhone or an iPad, with the latest update of the iOS 14 operating system, and with Bluetooth turned on. Once this is done, the AirTag is removed from its packaging, the tag is removed, and is immediately detected by the other device when it approaches. The installation of this takes less than a minute between it is found, named and reviewed that appears in the Find My or Find application.
From that moment, the search for the lost object is simple, the user only has to enter Find My or Find, click on the AirTag that is needed and a new click to find, in this way the system will give you instructions about where to move and how close you are to the object. Now, if you don’t have much time, you can also play a sound or ask Siri to help you find the object associated with this accessory.
This device can eventually be configured to send notifications to the Apple Watch.
The technology that helps in the detection of the AirTag is bluetooth, which allows the devices to be detected among themselves, at the same time that they send the location of the AirTag to iCloud, as long as they are in a range of up to 100 meters away.
In addition to bluetooth, the AirTag is accompanied by ultra-wide band technology – any that uses a bandwidth greater than 500 MHz – which allows you to find this object with precise instructions through the tracking option.
If it happens that the AirTag is out of range, you left the item in a distant place and it really is lost, then you can activate the “Lost Mode” function, just like you do with an iPhone. When another Apple device detects this signal, it will help you send you a notification with information about where it is.
In addition, it is possible to configure it so that other people know how to contact you in case they find it using in this case the short-range NFC technology – the same one with which you make payments with your phone. The user only needs to bring the AirTag to an iPhone so that an iCloud page is displayed where this information can be shared.
In terms of information privacy, this device does not store location history or specific information and only allows you to see where you are in real time. It is also assumed that those devices that allow you to find it when it is in “lost mode” do so anonymously, with encrypted location data.
Each user can have up to 16 AirTags associated with their Apple ID.
But what if I take someone else’s AirTag with me? What if I want to put my AirTag on someone else’s property? Easy, if you are an iPhone user, the AirTag will send an alert signal to the person who has it by “mistake” to indicate that this device exists near her. These alerts will only appear if an AirTag is separated from its owner.
In technical terms, this device has a battery capable of lasting one year – it can be changed by simply removing one of the covers and the iPhone will indicate when necessary -; it has an iP67 rating making it resistant to water, splashes and dust; is compatible with iPhones from model 11 to 12 Pro Max
AirTag is sold as of this week in Mexico individually at 749 pesos or in a pack of four at 2,499 pesos
