Without looking deep at the technology part I was wondering if this could be used as an alternative for avalanche transceivers in backcountry skiing. Avalanche transceivers use radio signals to find each other in case of an avalanche. They are very high priced and unfortunately a lot of people then decide to not use one. Having a cheap and reliable version using a phone could save lifes. I'm very curious to see if this is feasible
Apple Introduces AirTag
861–870 of 966 posts
Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#862Earlier quoted context omitted.
And the problem is? At what point did it become wrong for parents to know where their children are? It's called responsible parenting.
I haven’t stated anything to be a problem; only given the lay of the land.
I guess I misread your intent. Apologies.
Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#863Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who has mostly had android phones (but not now), I watched the wireless charging thing unfold in a hilarious way. A bunch of android phones had wireless charging years ago, including one of the nexus devices IIRC. Great! I'll buy a couple of wireless charging pucks and use them. No more flakey USB ports that give up before the phone does. Apple didn't pick it up. Android phones all dropped the feature. App…
Afaik Samsung phones had wireless charging since 2016 and kept that, didn't they? I'm an iPhone guy, but my colleagues were using wireless chargers around that time.
Interesting ... looking up the specs the site I use tells me that was "market dependent", I wonder if that has impacted my experience.
The motorola Nexus 6 had Qi charging in 2014, then that manufacturer seemed to back away from it. Huawei only picked the feature up in 2019 AFAICT, my P20 pro didn't have it.
But yes, it does look like the galaxy phones have had it all along. I wonder why I discounted those?
Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#864Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just wanted to say thank you for posting this. I have three small children and had no idea of the dangers these batteries pose. We seem to be changing button batteries every couple of weeks or so, they are in a number of sound books and toys we have around the house. I will be sure to take extra care with them after reading that article. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.
Serious question: what is the risk, aside from any other "foreign object"? Does the battery leak?
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Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#865Earlier quoted context omitted.
Instead now we get millions of CR2032 batteries thrown into the garbage each day :/ Anything with non-chargeable batteries is a no go from sustainability perspective
you could get them as a re-chargeable (though it would likely be more waste to buy a recharger) - but I mean even rechargeable batteries are also consumables
Rechargeable batteries in the 2032 (20mm wide, 3.2mm deep) package are generally lithium ion chemistry.
This means that, depending on the circuitry they are not always drop in compatible since the voltages and discharge curves differ
Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#866Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure it's really Apple's fault. You could do the same thing with a Tile or other beacon. That's the entire purpose of the device. Apple's trying to prevent misuse of their device. They want you to use it to find your keys, not your ex. If you consider that an invalid limitation of your device (by notifying your ex that they seem to be carrying an unknown tracker)... well, let's just say I disagree.
By attempting to prevent misuse they also prevent some legitimate and morally unquestionable uses. Like - the most obvious examples already mentioned in the comments - finding your cat or tracking your checked baggage. There are probably more less obvious use cases where something temporarily leaves owner's proximity, does not remain stationery, but tracking that object's location is perfectly legal and not questiona…
All of those usages are permitted and ordinary uses of the device. Nothing prevents you from doing that.
As far as I can tell from reading the article, all it does is say, "Hey, did you know you've been carrying around a tracker that's not yours?" Your cat or your luggage don't care if you attach a tracker to them. Your ex does.
Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#867A week ago my wife dropped her Iphone from a ski lift, and couldn't find it afterwards. I went to try and find it, from home she used Find my phone to get a picture of the location, and had it play sounds when I was nearby. I found it under a foot of snow, first try. This has been around for a while now but it was the first time I saw it first hand, I was blown away.
What is a "ski lift"? I don't remember the old times before Covid.
Luckily we live in a city with ski slopes near us, this particular one is in the same health authority we live in, so even in lockdown it's been ok to come ski. It's honestly the thing that has kept us sane, in retrospect I would have payed 10x or more for the family ski pass...
Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#868This 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).
I'm really curious how accurate this ends up being. Bluetooth location is one thing, but I've never seen bluetooth that can do anything more accurate than "X meters away" These UWB chips claim to do "X meters away in Y direction". The direction aspect could be revolutionary if it works well. AirTags is the perfect use for it as well.
im also super curious of this, i wanted to do a DIY angle of arrival necklace some time ago and last time i checked you required a whole mini antenna to achieve that!
Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#869This 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).
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jSDtUOQXJmo
two antennas using time of flight to achieve angle of arrival
Re: Apple Introduces AirTag
#870Earlier quoted context omitted.
You assume that in a counter-factual world, professional thieves can’t learn to check the pockets of stolen jackets? They are already known to use Bluetooth network scanners to identify, eg, cars with electronics stored inside.
How often do you imagine a professional thief stealing a jacket ?
I can’t think of many thieves trying to steal jackets, but that was the OP’s hypothetical, not mine.