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Leaker Jon Prosser Claims AirTags and New iPad Pro to Be Announced Next Month

QCassidy352 said:
Can someone explain to me why AirTags are so significant? I assume there are lots of great uses beyond “finding my lost keys,” but I’ve not heard them (and am apparently not imaginative enough to figure them out on my own).
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I think it just started off regular but it's seen so many leaks & so many delays, it's taken on kind of a weird mythological status at this point. Lot of people joking comparing it to AirPower and saying that its never going to actually release.

There have been multiple, fairly solid claims of it releasing since late-2019 (if i'm not mistaken) and obviously that's not happened yet.
 
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DeepIn2U said:
This has been my debate and thought ever since a clear mention of what is proposed Apple ill do with it. Beyond what Tile, Samsung and another 150 Chinese market product knock-offs, AirTags is just a protocol in my mind, if a product I think it'll just be like a Apple logo sticker beyond what's already out there.

Right?! Over and over and over. It's getting lame ... macrumors should just give up until l its actually announced officially.
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The network will be much bigger than the tile network, and these things are only as good as the network.
 
2021: The year Wayne’s R&D Project, AKA Fox’s SONAR device, becomes a reality.
 
hybrid_x said:
Calling these "key locators" is a gross oversimplification of their potential use.

AirTags, like the HomePod mini, are rumoured to be Ultra-Wideband devices. Ultra-Wideband allows for precise location and works very well indoors and through walls.

Instead of thinking of using an iPhone or Watch to locate AirTags, imagine a totally interconnected ecosystem where the precise locations of all devices on an Ultra-Wideband network could be used in an intelligent way.

Here's an possible use case: A user could build a 3D map of the home using Apple's AR camera tools, then strategically place AirTags throughout the home (locating them on the 3D map). This would enable devices like an iPhone (11 or later) or Apple Watch (series 6 or later) to be precisely located as they move about the home, triggering home automations on a room-by-room basis.
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So you are saying that they would allow the user to be tracked? :oops:
 
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markfc said:
Having just bought a 12.9 iPad Pro I except nothing less than for Apple to release a new one soon. 😂
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I also just bought a new 12.9 iPad Pro but I don't expect to see anything in the new one to make me regret that purchase. The current model is pretty great. The only quibble I have with it is that the front camera is on the top, so on the side in landscape mode which I use almost exclusively. so my thumb often covers it and interferes with face ID. But I haven't heard any rumors that this will change in the upcoming model.
 
I'm seriously considering the iPad Pro 12.9 at its current sale price; but this new release might be holding out for.
 
hybrid_x said:
Here's an possible use case: A user could build a 3D map of the home using Apple's AR camera tools, then strategically place AirTags throughout the home (locating them on the 3D map). This would enable devices like an iPhone (11 or later) or Apple Watch (series 6 or later) to be precisely located as they move about the home, triggering home automations on a room-by-room basis.
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Why would you use a product like air tags for this though? Highly portable “tags” that you tape to a wall? Why not just use things like homepods or the smart devices that are actually being triggered to track your iPhone’s movement? Do you even want to get to a point in your life where you can’t even move about your house without tying an electronic device to your body?

This just sounds a lot like “one day we’ll have flying cars” to me.
 
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hybrid_x said:
Calling these "key locators" is a gross oversimplification of their potential use.

AirTags, like the HomePod mini, are rumoured to be Ultra-Wideband devices. Ultra-Wideband allows for precise location and works very well indoors and through walls.

Instead of thinking of using an iPhone or Watch to locate AirTags, imagine a totally interconnected ecosystem where the precise locations of all devices on an Ultra-Wideband network could be used in an intelligent way.

Here's an possible use case: A user could build a 3D map of the home using Apple's AR camera tools, then strategically place AirTags throughout the home (locating them on the 3D map). This would enable devices like an iPhone (11 or later) or Apple Watch (series 6 or later) to be precisely located as they move about the home, triggering home automations on a room-by-room basis.
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I like the idea of triggering home automations on a room-by-room basis rather than using motion sensors.
 
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QCassidy352 said:
So the upshot would be something like a HomeKit-connected light or speaker would automatically come on when a device with ultrawideband (say a S6 watch) entered the room and was detected by the AirTag? Is that the kind of automation you’re thinking of?

No snark intended, genuinely trying to understand the proposed uses.
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Yes, that's exactly what I'm imagining.

I've been sitting on the fence with home automation and smart lighting, because I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on passive infrared "occupancy sensors" that are slow to respond and a pain in the butt to integrate because they need third-party hubs (Hue, Trädfri, Caséta, etc.).

Something radio-based makes much more sense. Throw a few of them around the home, and your whole network can then triangulate your precise location, so you could have music, lighting, or phone calls follow you from room to room.
 
furmese said:
I like the idea of triggering hone automations on a room-by-room basis rather than using motion sensors.
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hybrid_x said:
Yes, that's exactly what I'm imagining.

I've been sitting on the fence with home automation and smart lighting, because I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on passive infrared "occupancy sensors" that are slow to respond and a pain in the butt to integrate because they need third-party hubs (Hue, Trädfri, Caséta, etc.).

Something radio-based makes much more sense. Throw a few of them around the home, and your whole network can then triangulate your precise location, so you could have music, lighting, or phone calls follow you from room to room.
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this is pretty brilliant actually. i'd be so on board for getting a bunch if that's the case.

it probably goes without saying too that apple would have the privacy perspective nailed down for these too.
 
Eso said:
Why would you use a product like air tags for this though? Highly portable “tags” that you tape to a wall? Why not just use things like homepods or the smart devices that are actually being triggered to track your iPhone’s movement? Do you even want to get to a point in your life where you can’t even move about your house without tying an electronic device to your body?

This just sounds a lot like “one day we’ll have flying cars” to me.
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I don't want to put an AirPod Mini in every room, and a lot of third-party home automation products are a pain in the butt to integrate. I mean, a Hue motion sensor is $40 on its own, and you need a Hue hub to integrate it. I'd rather have something smaller and battery powered, that doesn't need a hub. I live in an old house and electrical outlets are at a premium.
 
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now i see it said:
Bluetooth trackers have been around for years and even Samsung now has one... yet we've been getting "rumors" of apple's version for over a year as if it'll be nuclear fusion or something.
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Over a year? We have been listening about this tracker for at least 2 years now...
 
furmese said:
I like the idea of triggering home automations on a room-by-room basis rather than using motion sensors.
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That's where I think Apple's AR tools could come in handy for mapping out the home. It totally changes the game as far as precision automation controls. Passive infrared motion/occupancy sensors are a really half-assed solution.
 
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QCassidy352 said:
Can someone explain to me why AirTags are so significant? I assume there are lots of great uses beyond “finding my lost keys,” but I’ve not heard them (and am apparently not imaginative enough to figure them out on my own).
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I don’t get it either. If you’re losing your stuff It’s because you weren’t organized to begin with. That said I flipped my entire house upside down last night, looking for my voltage tester.
 
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