AirTag Removable Battery Sparks Child Safety Concerns

[jonnyb098]

It's not about personal responsibility it's about poor design, if you build an item that is designed to be attached to items to help you find them, which means that the purchaser loses them at least enough to decide spending ~$45 on an AirTag + case is money well spent, and you decide to use a battery that has a reputation for seriously harming young children and animals, and then you decide to make a device that has tool-less entry, that's pretty damn negligent, especially when the decision to not include a safety screw is not a functional decision at all, it's purely aesthetic as you don't need regular access to the battery compartment ~once a year according to apple.

You do know theres a probability the battery has the same coating a nintendo switch cartridge has right? That makes it bitter to avoid these problems. Kids can ingest all sorts of things.

A battery is the least of a kids damn worries. Or stick the kid in a bubble. The world is a dangerous place. Thats life.

 

[jonnyb098]

Most replacement CR2032 and other coin batteries from Duracell (possibly others?) usually have a bitterant coating so if a child does try to place it in their mouth, it won't stay there very long.

I have three kids. If it's a huge concern, then do not buy AirTags.

DING DING DING We have a winner. By end of week apple will release a statement confirming that these have the same coating as a nintendo switch game to make them bitter to childrens taste.

 

[Dented]

You do know theres a possibility the battery has the same coating a nintendo switch cartridge has right? That makes it bitter to avoid these problems. Kids can ingest all sorts of things.

A battery is the least of a kids damn worries. Or stick the kid in a bubble. The world is a dangerous place. Thats life.

Well we’ve all been kids. Some kids have died from swallowing batteries. What worries did you have as a kid that were worse than that?

 

[jonnyb098]

Well we’ve all been kids. Some kids have died from swallowing batteries. What worries did you have as a kid that were worse than that?

Lots of kids worry about their next meal.... a safe home......heat..... It's only the goofs on here that think a damn airtag battery is the end of the world for their little angel.

 

[Dented]

DING DING DING We have a winner. By end of week apple will release a statement confirming that these have the same coating as a nintendo switch game to make them bitter to childrens taste.

Not sure why the comparison with switch games, but worth pointing out that those are not poisonous and are not going to burn any kids from the inside even if they are swallowed.

Let’s say Apple fit bitter tasting Duracells. There are thousands of other CR2032 batteries on the market which are not Duracell and do not have this bitterant (and are probably cheaper), meaning thousands of Airtags will wind up with non-bitter tasting batteries in about a year’s time.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Absolutely nothing aside from all the documented injuries and deaths that is.

Injuries from Batteries Among Children Aged <13 Years — United States, 1995–2010

www.cdc.gov

Incidentally you’ll note that amongst the thousands of injuries documented by the CDC, most of the actual deaths occured with large flat 3v button cells - like the CR2032.

You’re using 15 deaths between 1998-2010 to make your point?

 

[Dented]

Lots of kids worry about their next meal.... a safe home......heat..... It's only the goofs on here that think a damn airtag battery is the end of the world for their little angel.

And would those be… living children?

How difficult is it to understand that these batteries literally have been the end of the world for some ”little angels”?

 

[Manzanito]

No, if you read it people aren't complaining the battery is replaceable, the complaint is their easily removable and could be removed by a toddler, or animal and swallowed cause serious internal organ damage. All Apple had to do was not chose a tool-less entry design and this would not be an issue. There is a reason most reputable manufacturers put screws on the backplates of devices that contain these watch type batteries.

Makes sense.

 

[Dented]

You’re using 15 deaths between 1998-2010 to make your point?

15 deaths and thousands of injuries in the US alone, yes.

Tell the families of those 15 kids that it’s unreasonable to expect a trillion dollar company to add a screw to a battery door.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

They aren't using those new 'bitter batteries'? Wow...

 

[jonnyb098]

Not sure why the comparison with switch games, but worth pointing out that those are not poisonous and are not going to burn any kids from the inside even if they are swallowed.

Let’s say Apple fit bitter tasting Duracells. There are thousands of other CR2032 batteries on the market which are not Duracell and do not have this bitterant (and are probably cheaper), meaning thousands of Airtags will wind up with non-bitter tasting batteries in about a year’s time.

Then put in a battery that has the coating if its a concern.....once again personal responsibility is a thing. Seriously man, come on.

 

[paulypants]

Good grief.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

15 deaths and thousands of injuries in the US alone, yes.

Tell the families of those 15 kids that it’s unreasonable to expect a trillion dollar company to add a screw to a battery door.

Families of those 15 children, it is unreasonable to expect any company to do anything that you ask just because you think it is so.

 

[jonnyb098]

15 deaths and thousands of injuries in the US alone, yes.

Tell the families of those 15 kids that it’s unreasonable to expect a trillion dollar company to add a screw to a battery door.

Thousands of kids die from child abuse every year.....lets ban parenting. Keep reaching for straws , bud.

 

[WitchDrAsh2]

Thousands of kids die from child abuse every year.....lets ban parenting. Keep reaching for straws , bud.

Bad stuff occurs regularly, what I don't get is why people seem so against recommended to Apple making a simple fix that will make this device safer, just because there's a whole pile of sh*t out there, and people "have it worse" doesn't mean we should tolerate shoddy design and toss more on the top.

A simple screw, or some sort of opening device would make this a complete non-issue, to me it seems an obvious fix here for Apple.

Until then I'm not buying one, fortunately hardly any of my friends have Apple stuff, I'm nearly the only one buried in the entire eco-system, that combined with the pandemic suggests I'm unlikely to come into contact with this generation of AirTags unless I buy one, which isn't going to happen until there is a design change, or my kids get old enough that it's not a concern.

 

[HeinoM]

Well... I think that people should keep an eye on their kids by themselves and not make Apple responsible for THEIR actions. Like duh

I agree. Sadly though, today’s sue-happy society says that everything bad that happens to you is someone else’s fault and you deserve big bucks as a result.

 

[Dented]

Then put in a battery that has the coating if its a concern.....once again personal responsibility is a thing. Seriously man, come on.

Again, the product that we’re talking about is literally something you attach to things that get lost or misplaced and could turn up anywhere. That’s the entire point of Airtags.

The airtag that a child encounters may have NOTHING to do with the parent. The parent may not even know what an airtag is, let alone what brand of battery has been fitted, let alone that it has a battery at all or any means for the child to remove the battery. To the parent it may just be a keyring, or a tag on a bag, or something hidden in some other item altogether, assuming they are aware that the child has found it at all.

Now, let’s step out of the real world where literally no parent (including your own) can genuinely claim to have a laser-like focus on everything each of their children are doing in every moment, and pretend that only the most careless, terrible parents could ever allow their child to happen upon one of these and play with it, even for a second. Let’s say that those parents are evil, awful, unforgiveable people. Is it really absolutely right that their child should die in order to (retrospectively) teach them a lesson? If you’d died as a child in those circumstances, would that be A-OK with you?

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Until then I'm not buying one,

Maybe those who feel unsafe should use this logic.

 

[AtomicDusk]

Oh come on, this is ludicrous. It has a battery, replaceable is better than not. What do people want, every battery compartment to be screwed into place?

 

[phenste]

Most coin-cell type batteries (i.e. the easiest kind for kids to swallow) are coated with a chemical that makes it taste disgusting—to the point where any child would immediately spit it out. It’s the same thing Nintendo does with their Switch cartridges. Trust me: I own a Switch, and figured I would at least lick a cartridge to see how bad it is…no child will swallow one with that kind of coating. I understand the concern over the mechanism of removal, but Tile’s isn’t all that different. (Just recently had to replace a battery in one.)

 

[Dented]

Maybe those who feel unsafe should use this logic.

Completely flawed logic since by their very nature Airtags bought by other people are likely to turn up all over the place.

 

[WitchDrAsh2]

Oh come on, this is ludicrous. It has a battery, replaceable is better than not. What do people want, every battery compartment to be screwed into place?

For watch style batteries that would the ideal scenario, for other types of batteries it's less of an issue

 

[Dented]

Thousands of kids die from child abuse every year.....lets ban parenting. Keep reaching for straws , bud.

You know I’m pretty sure they did ban child abuse.

 

[jonnyb098]

Bad stuff occurs regularly, what I don't get is why people seem so against recommended to Apple making a simple fix that will make this device safer, just because there's a whole pile of sh*t out there, and people "have it worse" doesn't mean we should tolerate shoddy design and toss more on the top.

A simple screw, or some sort of opening device would make this a complete non-issue, to me it seems an obvious fix here for Apple.

Until then I'm not buying one, fortunately hardly any of my friends have Apple stuff, I'm nearly the only one buried in the entire eco-system, that combined with the pandemic suggests I'm unlikely to come into contact with this generation of AirTags unless I buy one, which isn't going to happen until there is a design change, or my kids get old enough that it's not a concern.

Or you worry about the many other dangers out there than a silly battery in an air tag that might already have a bitter coating on it to prevent ingestion.

I also love how you and every other parent think their little angel has some super human strength to PUSH IN AND TURN the damn thing to even expose the battery. Its like a damn pill bottle.

Get over yourselves. A battery is the least of you or your kids worries in life.

 

[Mousse]

Any word of child safety concerns regarding SmartTags and Tile? Because an eariler article on MR quoted iFixit that the Airtags battery was the most difficult of the three to replace.

All three trackers open up with finger power—no other tools required! That said, the AirTag is by far the most difficult, especially if you indulged in a snack earlier and have greasy digits. Imagine opening a stubborn pickle jar with just two slippery thumbs, and you’ve got the idea. The other trackers have dedicated divots for separating the pieces with a fingernail—moisturize to your heart’s content!

If a kid can access the Airtag battery easily, then they can get at the Tile and SmartTag battery. Hail, a simple solution to keep the kiddies from getting the Airtag battery is a bit of lube.