Yes, that is the problem with these kinds of unmanaged batteries. The voltage can vary a lot but it is only roughly related to the amount of charge. That’s why they had to remove the charge percent.
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Apple Removes AirTag Battery Level Indicator From the Find My App
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Lithium cells like these will show 3v until the end of their life and the voltage will go down quickly after that. That's why showing battery level is so hard. Also, it's an old trick that if your battery shows low you can take it out for a minute and put it back in. You should get a good bit of time. But it's usually the time to change it.
As a former Apple employee, I know no official reasoning will be given. Doesn’t mean I still can’t be salty about it. I have 4 AirTags and one has been saying low battery on and off for about two months. I relented and replace it but was irked when I noticed the battery meter had gone. Ho hum
Sure you could be salty about anything you want. I never understand why tech companies are so closed lipped about everything they do. I listen to a podcast about Windows and they’ll ask Microsoft some really simple question that everyone knows and they’ll refuse to comment on it. It’s like they’re afraid if they say that it’s going to cause some other secrets to leak out. 😂
So if the battery gets really close to dying, or DOES die, we won't know at all? Yikes, so the moral I guess is 'You can't trust AirTags, so don't buy them'?
It’s not tech companies, it’s every company. They would all rather put out a press release that’s been vetted by legal and marketing as that lands them in the least potential trouble. And really, if “everyone” knew the answer, why would they ask it?
“So, CEO, is water wet?” “That breathing you do, would you say you do it everyday?” “What’s your opinion on 1+1?”
The article indicates that users will still be notified of a low battery, there just won’t be a little picture of a battery. The moral is, if you REALLY need a picture of a battery, don’t buy them. The OTHER moral would be if you’re using anything with these button batteries in them and you’re seeing a battery icon, it’s a lie.So if the battery gets really close to dying, or DOES die, we won't know at all? Yikes, so the moral I guess is 'You can't trust AirTags, so don't buy them'?
It's part of the process. I used to go to a lot of the Microsoft and other industry players monthly 'tech updates', and even some of them were 'tense'. Techs asking questions the companies didn't want answered. I can remember a few times when the presenters would be asked a question, look frantically to their 'team', and then say they either couldn't answer that, or would 'take it off-line'. At times it was awkward, at times it was funny. Sometimes it was embarrassing. I believe once an attendee was 'spoken too' about his question(s).
But, yeah they get really antsy over some questions. Their responses could have an effect on their stock price if they got out, they fear. I did quite a few Tech Mentor conferences and really valued the 'off-line' times. It was a time to get confirmation on certain things they might have been vague about, and also find out some backroom issues why the vendors are sensitive on some issues. Getting workarounds was priceless too. And at some of those conferences, they would either have NDAs at the door, or have an outside presentation covered by heavy NDA and cellphone bans.
Best guess, it “unnecessarily” drains the battery. Necessary being subjective in this instance. I would imagine there are a lot of features that had to be sacrificed to keep the AirTag efficient. For MY money, definitely would have kept the active battery life indicator. I keep seeing the low juice alert every couple of days, but when I unscrew the lid and then re-close it, the low juice alert vanishes. I started keeping a backup CR2032 (Kodak was $8 for 10) in my wallet with the AirTag (I have lost my wallet more times than I care to admit even anonymously prior to AirTag). So when my remove/replace test comes back 👎 I can pop in the new one and move on.
That's the point. It is very difficult to accurately measure the battery level in Lithium coin cells. So rather than give inaccurate indications Apple removed the icon. We do get a warning when the battery is low.
I recently purchased a HyperPack Pro backpack which has a built in Find My module. I noticed it does have a battery indicator icon but it always shows near zero even with a brand new CR2032 battery. Is this a known issue? And perhaps why Apple removed the indicator on Air Tags?