Aren't AirTags more difficult to open than childproof medicine bottles? When would a child even have the opportunity to get a hold of one of these batteries?
Since AirTags were just released earlier this year and are expected to have a year-long battery life, it may be some time yet before AirTag users need a replacement battery, but when the time comes for a refresh, Apple is warning customers not to buy batteries with a bitter coating.
AirTags use coin-shaped CR2032 batteries, which happen to be a size that's easy to swallow. Some battery makers like Duracell have begun putting a bitter coating on CR2032 batteries to prevent children from eating them.
According to Duracell, hundreds of lithium coin batteries are accidentally swallowed by children each year, and these batteries can cause a harmful chemical reaction. The non-toxic bitter coating reacts with saliva and is meant to deter swallowing.
As The Loop points out, Apple's AirTag battery replacement support document that was published earlier this month specifically warns against bitterants and says that these coatings might cause the battery not to work.The alignment of the coating in relation to the battery contacts is at issue, so to ensure the battery will work, AirTag users should buy replacement CR2032 batteries that do not have any kind of coating.
Apple's use of the CR2032 battery has been an issue in Australia, and some Australian retailers have refused to sell AirTags because of the easy access to the battery. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sent out a press release urging parents to keep AirTags out of the reach of children because of safety concerns about the "accessibility and security of the button battery inside the product."
The battery in the AirTag is accessible by pressing and twisting the accessory open, which the ACCC believes is simple enough for children to figure out. In addition to avoiding batteries with coatings, AirTag users should also make an effort to keep them away from kids.
Article Link: Apple Says Don't Buy AirTag Replacement Batteries With Bitter Coating
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Apple Says Don't Buy AirTag Replacement Batteries With Bitter Coating
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Apple (and other electronics manufacturers) can't win. If they make the battery not easily accessible, consumer rights groups complain that they can't repair their electronics. Make it easily accessible, and the government doesn't let you sell your product because it's too "dangerous."🙄
Except I don’t think you know why I have that thought but that’s ok. I read the article and that’s irrelevant of how you think.
Case closed.
While parents should always be aware of what their kids are doing, manufacturers should always be testing for likely issues. Apple could have tested AirTags to see how easily they could be opened by children and made changes to the design.
Toddlers will put anything in their mouth, they're not yet at an age where they would know better.
You mean the same parents that can't or didn't teach their kids who are now adolescents and adults that eating Tide Pods is dangerous?
These are some really clever kids if they can crack open an iPod, iPhone, or iPad as easily as an AirTag and without tools and then manage to swallow a battery that's at least as large as a hand.
It’s to track items, not children. Make sure there is an adult watching the kids EVERY SECOND, that’s called PARENTING!
We finally get an Apple product with removable, normal batteries—and now Australia threatens to screw it all up for us. 🤦🏻♂️
It’s funny to see people thinking they could let their children freely search around before they could understand what is dangerous. If you cannot have an adult watching your tiny kids EVERY SECOND, or cannot teach your bigger kids the real life commonsense, you are not ready to be a parent, yet.
Maybe the Airtag should be secured by screws. The battery is replaced once a year.
If kids are smart enough to use a screwdriver, they’re smart enough to not swallow a non-food item battery.
If kids are smart enough to use a screwdriver, they’re smart enough to not swallow a non-food item battery.
So Apple goes an extra mile to prevent “stalking” but is actually against protecting children. Okay.
But you don’t usually have those items around the house like you’d probably do with AirTags.
There is a reason why stuff like a remote control car used to have a screw securing their battery tray.
Sadly a pentalobe screw would probably add 0.15$ of additional costs to the overall manufacturing process per device
Revenue over lifes, Apple yikes!
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They have zero experience with the world and are figuring literally everything out. That's why you keep swallowable batteries that will burn a hole in their esophagus away from them -- among other things.
And I hate to break it to you and the other callous *******s in this thread, but even diligent and attentive parents can miss something and so it's on industry to call out or mitigate dangers that people might not know about -- like a very very tiny battery that can burn a kid's throat out. But I guess you were born knowing everything, right? You've never made a mistake or been in a hurry or just overlooked something? And when you were a kid you never did a dumb thing, yeah?
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Thanks for describing why kids are dumb.
No. Everyone is born dumb. A baby lacks intelligence and therefore is dumb. I'm not sure why you would suggest otherwise.
Let's see... governments and tinkerers bash Apple for their devices not being self-repairable and maintainable under "Right to Repair" standards. Apple makes a product with a relatively easily accessible, standard 2032 battery (versus something expensive and proprietary). Governments and a group of people of who believe everything in life should be build child-proof (versus telling your kid "Don't eat batteries!") now bash Apple for making the very thing they've asked for. SMH