Apple AirTag

Keep tabs on your own stuff

Apple’s AirTag is a Bluetooth-enabled tracker that allows you to find items you may have lost or misplaced using your compatible iPhone or iPad. This is the first tracking device Apple has released, and it works on the company’s “Find My” network. When you launch the Find My app on your iOS device, you will be able to hone in on where the missing item is.

AirTags make use of U1 Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, which is spatially-aware wireless connectivity that can be more precise on location. When another U1-enabled device, like an iPhone, looks for the AirTag, it will be able to triangulate where the signal is coming from as it gets within range.

This is especially useful indoors, where GPS isn’t all that helpful. With UWB, it’s easier to know where to go, be it turn-by-turn directions, or whether it’s on the upper or lower floor. It can also mean the difference between knowing whether you’ve misplaced something under the couch or outside in the car, for example.

Small and easy to use

The AirTag is a small circular device—a bit larger than a toonie in Canada—measuring 32mm in diameter and 8mm thick. It has a built-in speaker to sound an alert when trying to find whatever it’s attached to, giving you an audible indication on where your item may be. It’s small enough to keep or attach to anything you value.

Whether it’s your keys, wallet, backpack, or even a pet, AirTags are lightweight enough to not feel cumbersome. There are leather keyrings available to outfit it, and you can expect other types of holders and products to simplify what you can apply it to.

These small devices take CR2032 batteries that will last about a year before needing replacement. You can replace them yourself, by simply sliding out the dead battery for a new one to give it a fresh start again. When you do replace the battery, you don’t lose any of your settings for that AirTag, so your transition is seamless.

Compatible devices

Most iPhone models will work with the AirTag, though there are some variables involved. First, any iPhone that can run iOS 14.5 or later will be able to connect and track an AirTag. However, only newer iPhone devices are equipped with UWB chips. Those are the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Prior models, including the iPhone SE, were not equipped with that chip, so will not have the same level of indoor tracking. They can still track and connect with an AirTag, only can’t find precise positioning indoors the way UWB enables the newer models to do.

Compatibility extends to the iPad, so long as it can run iOS 14.5 or the latest version of iPadOS. Apple has yet to include UWB chips in its tablets, so functionality will be similar to the iPhone models that also aren’t equipped with them.