Apple seems to confirm the arrival of AirTags in now-deleted video
It looks like Apple is actually going to release AirTags. Rumors about this have been going on for some time and now seem to have been confirmed by mistake. Apple briefly posted an explainer video on another topic online, showing the AirTags name and its function.
In the video, which has since been removed from YouTube, Apple showed how an iPhone user can reset their phone to factory settings via the smartphone or a computer. The video titled “How to erase your iPhone,” which was spotted by Appleosophy, featured the Enable Offline Finding feature. This makes it possible to trace the phone and AirTags, even if there is no connection to WiFi or mobile internet. The name AirTags is also specifically mentioned in the brief explanation of this feature.
The fact that AirTags can also be found when the user is offline and thus not connected to Wi-Fi or 4G means that previous rumors about the use of the U1 chip on iPhone 11 phones seem to be correct. AirTags are not expected to work via bluetooth, but via the ultrawideband chip U1. Thanks to time of flight, this technique enables precise location determination of the device, and of the device in relation to other devices with the U1 chip.
There have been rumors for some time that Apple will release AirTags in the not too distant future. The name has appeared in code from iOS builds before. AirTags will probably become small devices that can be attached to a bunch of keys, for example, after which an iPhone 11 can locate them via the U1 chip. In iOS 13, there is already a way to trace a lost iPhone via bluetooth.
Recently, Tile, the manufacturer of devices for tracing keys via Bluetooth, for example, complained about how Apple had made iOS 13 less user-friendly for Tile trackers. Users have to indicate deep in the settings of iOS 13 that they allow Tile to track the location in the background, something that Apple’s own Find My app, which will presumably be used for AirTags, is not necessary. According to the CEO of Tile, Apple has promised to improve on this point, but the Cupertino company has not yet fulfilled this promise. When AirTags come out, they will likely compete with Tile’s devices.
Screenshot from the deleted video