Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
66,564
35,811


Apple today announced the launch of its Find My network accessory program, which lets third-party accessories integrate with the Find My app.

find-my-lost-mode.jpg

Initial Find My accessories from VanMoof, Belkin, and Chipolo will work with Find My using Bluetooth, but Apple is developing a U1 specification for chipset makers that will let third-party devices take advantage of the U1 Ultra Wideband chip built into the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models.

According to Apple, third-party accessories that offer Ultra Wideband support for the U1 chip will be able to offer a "more precise, directionally aware experience when nearby," making tracking an item to a specific location easier, especially when that item is close by.

Items that have Ultra Wideband will be able to be tracked more precisely with devices that have a U1 chip, which includes all of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models.

Apple's decision to open up access to the U1 chip in the iPhones for Find My will put third-party accessories that integrate Ultra Wideband on par with the rumored AirTags. AirTags will feature U1 chip support for more accurate tracking, according to rumors, so Apple will have no specific edge over competitors with the way that the Find My program is set up.

There has been some pushback from Tile on rumors of AirTags, so Apple likely wanted to avoid any kind of situation where it looked like its own accessories were getting special treatment not available to third-party accessories.

Apple says that its U1 specification will be available to device makers "later this spring," so it will still be some time before we see Ultra Wideband-compatible accessories that work with the Find My app.

Article Link: Third-Party Accessory Makers Can Access U1 Chip in iPhones for Find My
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mike_Trivisonno
I'm hoping that the "Pairing Lock" extends to the AirPods family soon with a firmware update. It never sat right with me that someone can steal my AirPods and basically start using them as theirs after resetting the AirPods. Otherwise it's crazy how the Belkin earbuds have this but not AirPods
 
This really makes me wonder if AirTags will be released, seems kind of strange for Apple to give these options to other manufacturers.
I think this is why AirTags have been delayed-- someone made the decision that they needed to open up to 3rd party support before they released a 1st party solution to avoid either legal issues, bad PR, or most likely both.
 
I think this is why AirTags have been delayed-- someone made the decision that they needed to open up to 3rd party support before they released a 1st party solution to avoid either legal issues, bad PR, or most likely both.
This is what I came here to say. With all the other antitrust complaints and allegations floating around, they probably wanted to preemptively nip this in the bud. I think it’s great for competition to open this standard up. Just let me finally buy these dang things!!

(and please let them have a removable battery, instead of an eventually-degraded rechargeable one)
 
I'm hoping that the "Pairing Lock" extends to the AirPods family soon with a firmware update. It never sat right with me that someone can steal my AirPods and basically start using them as theirs after resetting the AirPods. Otherwise it's crazy how the Belkin earbuds have this but not AirPods
You got a link for this Belkin feature? I cannot find it. The only thing is that there is a coming soon feature from Belkin using FMIP that is not even out yet.
 
Initial Find My accessories from VanMoof, Belkin, and Chipolo will work with Find My using Bluetooth, but Apple is developing a U1 specification for chipset makers that will let third-party devices take advantage of the U1 Ultra Wideband chip built into the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models.
I’ve not heard of VanMoof until now, but they certainly chose a great company name!
 
It's in the image used in this Macrumors post which was from Apple's press release. That more or less confirms it.
I distinctly asked for a link to Belkin that proves they offer this. I do not see where Belkin currently has this an offering and no third party is currently using FMIP. So that tells me it is currently not a feature being offered and also the image in use is a standard Apple Image which means that the "lock" feature more than likely is a new FMIP feature that is going to be released as a part of the third party program and they are using Belkin as an example(because they are by far the largest accessory partner of Apple).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.