Exclusive: Apple's Tile Competitor Will Include 'Items' Tab in iOS 13's Find My App and Much More

[SkippyThorson]

How do you know that they won't shrink it to a dime size??

It would have to be larger than a dime. A classic 'if this, then that' case:

There are also strings that suggest Apple's tags will be equipped with a removable battery, which would likely be a button cell, aka the small, circular batteries found in many watches and the latest Tile trackers. A low battery warning appears to prompt the tag to send a final location of the item it is attached to.
"Unscrew the back of the item and remove the battery," another string in the internal Find My app bundle reads.

If they take a removable 2016 or 2032 button battery, which is already larger than a dime...
(and other button cells are much thicker)

You can guess the rest.

---

Hint: Look at the TrackR Pixel. I have a ton of those, and that's about as small as you can make a device like that - and I imagine Apple is simply going to pick up where TrackR left off.

Two pains in the rear because they're Bluetooth. Walk away and the TrackR already does what Apple's rumored device will do, only if you A, have the app running or B, launch the app to find a device and are surprised to find the battery you replaced last month is dead. The little batteries get costly because a lost / home / away-from-you device is constantly getting Bluetooth pings from other near devices to prove it knows where it is. Hopefully Apple can improve upon that.

 

[BuddyTronic]

It would have to be larger than a dime. A classic 'if this, then that' case:



If they take a removable 2016 or 2032 button battery, which is already larger than a dime...
(and other button cells are much thicker)

You can guess the rest.

---

Hint: Look at the TrackR Pixel. I have a ton of those, and that's about as small as you can make a device like that - and I imagine Apple is simply going to pick up where TrackR left off.

Two pains in the rear because they're Bluetooth. Walk away and the TrackR already does what Apple's rumored device will do, only if you A, have the app running or B, launch the app to find a device and are surprised to find the battery you replaced last month is dead. The little batteries get costly because a lost / home / away-from-you device is constantly getting Bluetooth pings from other near devices to prove it knows where it is. Hopefully Apple can improve upon that.

Yep, I have lots (too many) of TrackR devices and while they are a pretty good product, Apple can make it much better.

- Apple will have their own chip solution for this - with better power management. Battery life is key. TrackR has this crazy policy in which you get "FREE" batteries - but you have to jump hoops to get them to send anything, and then they sometimes forget to send your "FREE" battery. And you need the "FREE" battery every month . Neeto product, but the battery hassles make it almost unusable. I have tried for several years. Guess what - they are all with dead batteries.

- Apple will make it easier to replace battery, or make a new style of battery, or make it rechargeable

- Apple will make the tracking system work a lot better - because it's built into iOS and safeguards privacy. TrackR and others depend on end user altruism - running the app in the background for the sake of tracking someone else's devices. Apple has this instantly solved in the background.

- Apple can do the "passive" thing that works without battery?

- Apple has the ARkit integration - which can make scavenger hunts fun for kids and many other things.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Can’t wait to slap one of these on my partner

 

[Hi Tek]

Can’t wait to slap one of these on my partner

This comment is underrated.


I've been using Trackr for my wallet for 2 maybe 3years now. I've never had to exchange the battery.

No excuses, Apple.

Not spending more than $45 CAD as I can get 2-3 Trackr's for the same price

 

[cmaier]

Just $39 each, or a 5-pack for only $199. Battery replacement program will be available later.

This better be ridiculously good product or I will continue using Chipolo (*

*) Lots of other competition in the market also, so Apple has to find amazing USP.

What matters is the quality of the network, not the quality of the device. And iPhones/iPads/apple tvs/apple watches are everywhere.

 

[Abazigal]

This comment is underrated.


I've been using Trackr for my wallet for 2 maybe 3years now. I've never had to exchange the battery.

No excuses, Apple.

Not spending more than $45 CAD as I can get 2-3 Trackr's for the same price

Then get the trackr?

I don’t understand why people evidently think a project is doomed to fail if they don’t want to buy it. As if the market consisted of them and them alone.

 

[4jasontv]

What matters is the quality of the network.

Are you talking about wifi vs bluetooth vs proprietary protocols?

 

[cmaier]

Are you talking about wifi vs bluetooth vs proprietary protocols?

No. I’m talking about the fact that these tile-like things are only as good as the number of People running the app.

Given how many people have iPhones and iOS devices, the chances that your lost item will be able to ping home is much higher than with any of the alternatives.

 

[duervo]

No. I’m talking about the fact that these tile-like things are only as good as the number of People running the app.

Given how many people have iPhones and iOS devices, the chances that your lost item will be able to ping home is much higher than with any of the alternatives.

Well, except that Tile supports more than just Apple’s platform. So that’s not a very equal comparison or accurate statement to be making here.

 

[cmaier]

Well, except that Tile supports more than just Apple’s platform. So that’s not a very equal comparison or accurate statement to be making here.

It’s very accurate. First, tile only works on phones that have the app. Apple’s solution will work with all iOS devices. Second, tile only works if the app is installed and running.

 

[BuddyTronic]

This comment is underrated.


I've been using Trackr for my wallet for 2 maybe 3years now. I've never had to exchange the battery.

No excuses, Apple.

Not spending more than $45 CAD as I can get 2-3 Trackr's for the same price

You have never changed the battery? I have many of these and battery lasts a month most of the time, maybe 2. What am I doing wrong I wonder? Cheap batteries off amazon is my only guess. Oh - and some voltage leak for sure, or it’s doing endless connects - I really don’t know. I have bravos and pixels and not sure I noticed a difference in battery life. I’m thinking the Apple version is the fix for me.

 

[BuddyTronic]

Well, except that Tile supports more than just Apple’s platform. So that’s not a very equal comparison or accurate statement to be making here.

That's true, somewhat. TrackR and StickNFind, and Tile and the many other Shenzhen Futian BT trackers out there all have their pluses and minuses.

I almost feel sorry for some of these companies because Apple is going to trounce their market in a big way. But that's tech. BT chip hardware bugs that are impossible to fix, and Apple's realization that they can do this spells the end of what these companies set out to do - at least it seems that way to me.

 

[Onelifenofear]

The price has to be reasonable, don’t charge $50 for each one. I’d like to stick one of these in my wallet.

Who has a wallet these days!
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If it’s anything like AirPods it’ll be cool.

As someone that just lost my EarPods (without the case) I think that each earstick should have this.

 

[retrospek]

Could you hide one of these in your car - and then have a tracker for the car ?

 

[Onelifenofear]

I am surprised that it’s not rechargeable.

 

[alexandr]

please be good and reasonably priced.

 

[Hi Tek]

Then get the trackr?

I don’t understand why people evidently think a project is doomed to fail if they don’t want to buy it. As if the market consisted of them and them alone.

No.. I'm still gonna try these Apple versions of Tile out no doubt.

I want the project to succeed. I'm saying that if the "Trackr" company can make batteries last, I'm sure apple can too. Maybe take it as competition for Apple to put the bar like they do every so often whenYou read into what I said way too much. - Other than that, like I said I'm not justifying the price. Which is my choice with my wallet.

 

[erinsarah]

So, it would appear the killer feature is Lost Mode. So, you leave your keys at a bar. You set the tile to Lost Mode, and suddenly every iPhone user at that bar gets an alert that your keys are nearby. Suddenly it's a scavenger hunt. This could replace trivia nights!

It's actually a pretty brilliant idea, but I could see people in busy places like NYC opting out of being notified (if that's possible to do) because a)I picture thousands of city dwellers losing their stuff on a daily basis and b)New Yorkers just do't give a sh*t about you ;-)

 

[tfredvik]

If users are unable to find an item, they can place the attached tag into a "Lost Mode." Then, if another iPhone user comes across the lost item, they will be able to view contact info for the item's owner and contact them by phone or text message. Perhaps the stranger will be alerted with a Find My notification on their iPhone when they have found a lost item. The item's owner will also be notified.

This will surely be happening in the background, right? Just like how Tiles work? It seems very little Apple-like to let strangers see your contact info like described in the quote. I don't want 100 random strangers who's devices detect my lost item to call and text me to let me know where to find my item! The location of my lost item will of course only be found in the Find My app on my iPhone, no one else will even know that my item is put in Lost Mode.

 

[Sircoynie]

I believe Apples technology in this product is related to the new mimic go product due to the amount of activity from Apple engineers on the mimic social platforms.

 

[PastaPrimav]

That just points to terrible design of the Apple Watch

...said absolutely no one with a clue, ever.
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That's easy to solve by defining "safe locations", just like for the trackers described in this article.
Then you obviously turn the feature off (unless you're in a safe location). You'll have to do the same thing with the trackers if you leave behind the item it's attached to on purpose.

Nope. Making people have to turn something off for it to work right is not how multi-million unit product deployments are handled.

 

[cmaier]

I am surprised that it’s not rechargeable.

Replaceable battery doesn’t necessarily exclude recharge-ability.

 

[4jasontv]

No. I’m talking about the fact that these tile-like things are only as good as the number of People running the app.

Given how many people have iPhones and iOS devices, the chances that your lost item will be able to ping home is much higher than with any of the alternatives.

I must have missed something. How does other people running the app help me find my tile? Other people’s tile better not use my data.

 

[duervo]

It’s very accurate. First, tile only works on phones that have the app. Apple’s solution will work with all iOS devices. Second, tile only works if the app is installed and running.

No it’s not. You’re completely ignoring the entire Android platform, which has a combined installed base that is much larger than iOS. Doing so can hardly be considered “very accurate.”

 

[dennysanders]

Probably as many as the number of people who went around chopping off the fingers of other iPhone users (if you believe the hysteria here surrounding Touch ID when the feature was first announced) or making 3D Face replicas to get around Face ID.

Seems to me that tossing a tracker in a glovebox would be a tad bit easier than making face replicas and removing fingers.