Apple this week finally introduced the long-expected AirTag, but the company began regulatory testing years before, FCC documents show.
AirTag is a small accessory that helps keep track of and find the items that matter most with Apple’s Find My app. Whether attached to a handbag, keys, backpack, or other items, AirTag taps into the vast, global Find My network1 and can help locate a lost item, all while keeping location data private and anonymous with end-to-end encryption. AirTag can be purchased in one and four packs for just $29 and $99, respectively, and will be available beginning Friday, April 30th.
A series of documents submitted to the Federal Communications Commission indicate that AirTag underwent testing for official certification between July and November of 2019. Despite testing being conducted in mid-2019, official reports for regulatory certification were only issued in September and October of last year.
Like all consumer products, Apple devices must undergo extensive and rigorous testing with the FCC in the United States and regulatory agencies of countries where the device will be sold before they can reach the market. What makes this case particularly interesting is that AirTags were the subject of rumors for a full two years, with a launch seemingly imminent for much of that time.
MacDailyNews Take: AirTags rely on iPhones being out and about as a worldwide network to more accurately find AirTags. With the COVID-19 lockdowns, that network was severely disrupted. AirTags wouldn’t have worked well. So, basically, Apple had to wait on the AirTag launch even though they’d been working on FCC approval for years. They smartly took that time to open up the Find My network to third-party trackers, mitigating the impact of baseless antitrust accusations from tracker makers who’d rather whine to government panels than compete.
I ordered a set of 4. one for each family member.
So you can find each other?
Apple plays long…
How so? Looks like Apple identified a company that made good money leveraging modern communication networks, reverse engineered their product, and is now pushing a copycat as a fashion accessory with mandatory insanely overpriced straps.
That is not innovative, nor is it playing a long game. It’s copying a technology and up-marketing it to be more expensive for consumers.
FYI, other trackers can be leashed via a keychain loop for practically free. What is the cheapest holder Apple sells?
Long game, my ass. It’s pimping the Apple brand to people with too much money to waste. You should strap them onto your $550 beats headphones which perform like competitive headphones costing half that much.
Apple was testing AirTags about the same time Tile went on the market, so they aren’t reverse engineered. Apple, unlike Tile, uses the Find My network as its primary (and more precise) location tool. One could as easily argue that Tile ripped off Find My, which came first.