Apple Introduces AirTag • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#541

Post by paultopia » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:29 AM UTC

john_payette wrote: post #171

This tag has an U1 chip using Ultra Wide Band (UWB) which means that iPhones 11 and above also equipped with those chips will be able to locate those tags from 80m away with a +/-30cm accuracy. U1 UWB uses short pulses at 6.24GHz and 8.2GHz and positioning is done by combining time of flight (ToF) and angle of arrival (AoA).

Does anyone have any clue about whether other devices with a U1 chip will also be able to do that? (I'm thinking about people like me, who have an apple watch 6---which does have the U1 chip---but are a few generations behind on the iphone)

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#542

Post by ghaff » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:30 AM UTC

SilverRed wrote: post #518

rcpt wrote: post #475

Once I started using Tile it became impossible for me to remember where I put my keys. There just wasn't any pressure to stay organized since the beeping would always save me. But whenever the battery was out or the Bluetooth wasn't connecting oh boy. Same kind of thing happened with GPS. I used to pay more attention to maps and really learned streets but now I just expect the phone to solve everything for me. I'm lo…

This kind of thing would be incredible built in to expensive portable electronics. My bf recently lost his very expensive sony earbuds while on holiday and once its not in the hotel room or your bags, its basically gone. The most likely situation is it was at one of the public transport lost item collections but calling up everywhere we had been was too much work. Airtags would have found them most likely.

The challenge is that you need a.) an easy way to attach in some manner which doesn't work very well on a small product and b.) you need to be able to triage what small subset of things you really want to track.

Yes, building in helps. Though it probably opens up a variety of privacy/security failure modes.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#543

Post by SllX » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:32 AM UTC

SilverRed wrote: post #537

SllX wrote: post #530

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parents just equip them with an iPhone or Apple Watch instead.

You still can tell if someone is tracking you. I'm not aware that Apple allows in any way for an apple watch or iphone to monitor the location without making the holder aware.

I don’t disagree, but this is not any comfort to the children of tech savvy parents. They’ll be tracked and they’ll know they’re being tracked and they won’t have recourse. AirTags are kind of irrelevant here.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#544

Post by Tiktaalik » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:34 AM UTC

Looks too big and heavy to put on a cat's collar, which would preclude the best use I can think of for this thing.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#545

Post by Rapzid » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:35 AM UTC

I didn't realize enough people had so much trouble keeping track of their stuff for Apple to get into this.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#546

Post by Tiktaalik » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:38 AM UTC

puttycat wrote: post #75

This is truly revolutionary for pet owners. All existing solutions I know of have at least one fault-intolerant property that makes them useless for the lost-pet use case (battery / size / unreliable connection coverage / etc.) If I understand correctly Apple tags solve all of these at once.

Looked a bit big to me for a cat, but maybe it's lighter than it looks.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#547

Post by oop » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:39 AM UTC

axiosgunnar wrote: post #540

Wait, do I understand correctly that my phone is being abused as part of a global botnet for Apple? How do I disable my iPhone being using to relay data?

It's a stretch to say anonymized reporting of nearby lost devices is abuse and part of a botnet, but you can turn off the U1 chip in settings. Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Networking & Wireless

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#548

Post by austhrow743 » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:42 AM UTC

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #488

imwillofficial wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Where people praise App for things other people have already done.” Did anyone say Apple was the first to do this? No, no they did not. So are you saying that nobody is allowed to be praised if it’s been done before? Because that’s what it looks like to me, please correct me if I’m mistaken. Thanks.

GP said that "Apple made it practical" while quoting a part about having user-replaceable batteries, implying that Apple's use of replaceable batteries in a device tracker was Apple's innovation.

No it's implying that there was a worry that Apple wouldn't have user replaceable batteries. They at no point reference any competing product.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#549

Post by arsome » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:44 AM UTC

michaelcampbell wrote: post #435

hundchenkatze wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's more to these than just batteries. If they had sealed-in a rechargeable battery then you'd have to throw out the whole thing and buy a new one once it stopped holding a charge. This way you can just buy your own rechargeable CR2032 batteries.

I thought you were joking about rechargeable 2032's... and I was wrong. Had no idea. I don't know why I didn't look into these before; I have a number of things that use 2032's that I can use this for.

Be careful with that one, many rechargeables aren't suitable for low current/long lasting applications due to self-discharge. There are "low self-discharge" cells, but not sure about that in a CR2032 form factor.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#550

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 21, 2021, 1:45 AM UTC

rcpt wrote: post #475

Once I started using Tile it became impossible for me to remember where I put my keys. There just wasn't any pressure to stay organized since the beeping would always save me. But whenever the battery was out or the Bluetooth wasn't connecting oh boy. Same kind of thing happened with GPS. I used to pay more attention to maps and really learned streets but now I just expect the phone to solve everything for me. I'm lo…

[deleted]