As a person who is constantly moving about, I do tend to forget where I leave stuff from time to time and well, Apple may have helped solve that problem for me.
This is the AirTag. It is a small tracker that helps you find your stuff. Now trackers are nothing new as Tile trackers have been around for the longest time but honestly, there has not been a tracker so far that is as convenient as the AirTag.Â
Okay so to understand why I say this, we first need to understand how these trackers work.
Let’s take Tile trackers for example. So there are many different types of Tile trackers but each one does the same thing; you attach it to something, like your wallet or bag and if you lose it, you can track the item through the Tile app on your phone.Â
Now, the tracking feature will only work if the Tile is nearby or in range since it uses Bluetooth. So if your Tile is out of range, It will show you the last place it was at
So if the item is actually lost, then you can use the Notify When Lost feature which will alert other Tile users so that if they come across your item, they will be able to notify you through the app.
Now this is where the convenience of AirTags comes in but before we get into that, let’s unbox it.Â
Unboxing
So the AirTags I have over here is the one pack version as the four pack version is currently not available in Malaysia yet.
The unboxing experience is pretty minimal with just AirTag written on the front and the visual of the AirTag down below.
Opening up the box, you will find the usual paperwork. Then you will need to unfold a small paper where you will find the AirTag itself right in the middle and next to it are the instructions on how to pair it to your iPhone.Â
Taking out the AirTag, you will find it wrapped around in plastic. And when you remove it from the plastic, the last bit is a pull tab.Â
Then as soon as you pull the tab out, the battery is activated and the AirTag makes a small noise to indicate that it is turned on.Â
Pairing
Now pairing it, as with any Apple accessory is rather simple. Once the AirTag is turned on, just bring it close to your iPhone.
And similar to the AirPods, and you will get this pop up screen to pair it up. Once you hit connect, you will be prompted to choose an item this AirTag will be attached to and then you are good to go.Â
Design
Now in terms of the design, the AirTags are small so they should fit inside a bag or virtually anywhere easily.Â
The AirTags have this round puck-like shape to them and they are also slightly on the thicker side, which would make it difficult to fit them into a minimalist wallet like mine, which is more of a cardholder style wallet, but you can easily put it in a regular sized wallet, pouch or your handbag.
The AirTags have a plastic white back and a stainless steel chrome like finish on the opposite side with the Apple logo in the middle. This chrome side of the AirTag which does scratch easily so keep that in mind.
I also find it really cool that Apple has used a regular CR2032 battery inside of the AirTag where if you turn the chrome side of the AirTag you will find it in there.
I found this really cool as it means that the battery is easily replaceable and you do not have to spend tons of money to change the battery on your AirTags once it runs out.
And since the AirTags also use Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) which uses less power and Apple says that the AirTag battery will last you about a year.Â
What is even cooler is that it is also IP67 dust and water resistant which means you can get it wet without having to worry about it disconnecting or dying on you, which is great to know.Â
Unlike a Tile however, the AirTag does not come with any holes or places to attach a keychain to so you are gonna have to buy an extra accessory to attach it to something like your key or a bag, where with me I have the Leather Key Ring in the unique Saddle Brown color and the Sunflower and of course, white color AirTag Loop to easily attached it to where I would like to place it.
How Does It Work?Â
Okay so the next question you probably have is, how exactly does this thing work?Â
So let’s say you lost something and have an AirTag attached to it.
If you have an iPhone 11 or later, by using the U1 chip and if the AirTag is in range, you will be able to track it through the Find My app with this cool precision finding experience.
Now, other iPhones without the U1 chip are also compatible with the AirTags but will not have the precision finding feature, so keep that in mind as well.
So with this feature, you can see how far or how near the AirTag is and it also tells you in which direction to head.Â
You will also be able to make the AirTag play a sound through the built in speaker to help you easily hear it and locate it. And for a small device, I have got to say, the speaker is pretty loud.
Also, the precision finding animation does need a good signal to be triggered, then as you go nearer, it will keep updating how far away you are.
Now let us say the AirTag is not in range, well through the Find My app, just like the Tile, you will be able to see the last location.Â
Now what if your item is really lost? Well, here is where you can then head into the Find My app and you can then mark it as lost.
When you mark it as lost, you will be prompted to put in a phone number and a message so that when someone finds it, they can contact you easily.
So how does someone find your item? Well, if you have an iOS device and someone has lost an AirTag, you will be able to see the lost AirTag in the Find My app on your device and be able to contact the person who has lost it.
Now if a person with an Android device has found your AirTag, they can scan the AirTag like an NFC tag which will then show a website popup with the phone number and message that you left.
All this does sound good on paper but it also does raise a number of security and privacy concerns with the main one being, what if someone tries to track you with an AirTag? What would happen if for some reason someone places their AirTag in your bag or on you so that they can track you?Â
Well, thankfully Apple has thought of that.
Because If your iPhone notices that there is an AirTag, which does NOT belong to you but is following you around, you will be notified about it and you will be informed that your location can be seen by the owner of the AirTag.Â
So if anyone who told you can track your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend or just be a plain stalker, well… NO YOU CAN’T!
Do check out my YouTube video where I put the AirTag to the test!Â
Conclusion
Alright guys, conclusion time.
So at the beginning of this article, I mentioned why the AirTag is a better tracker than something like the Tile. Well, to put it in one word, the ECOSYSTEM!Â
The AirTag is a product that fits so well into Apple’s Ecosystem, which makes it a much better tracker than a company like Tile’s.Â
While it may not be as thin or as easy to fit into anything but the AirTag is just way much easier to find AND at the end of the day, that is what matters.
Like I had mentioned, the AirTag is dependent on the Find My app and If you lose an AirTag, someone with an iOS device will be able to help you find it. And everywhere you go in Malaysia, you are going to see a whole bunch of people with an iPhone and how many people do you know that use a Tile here in Malaysia? Well, not as many as the amount of iPhones that are around us.
And that is what makes the AirTag the most convenient tracker you can get, especially since it is also trackable through an Android phone easily when it is lost as well.Â
Alright guys, this is my in-depth review of the AirTags, so do let me know what you think of this product and what you think of trackers in general – Are they really useful to you?Â
Aside from that, thank you so much for reading. My name is Adam Lobo and I will catch you guys in my next review!
Get the Apple AirTags at the link below:-
