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Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

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Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#141
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russia does pretty widespread GPS jamming and spoofing both in their country as well as across the Baltics and Nordics (and others). If a phone is receiving bad GPS data when it reports sensing the tag, the tag location will reflect that bad GPS data and not reality.

Shouldn't most comodity GPS receivers also be GLONASS compatible (I get that Galileo is more niche and might not be included). Does the Sensor Apple uses not use GLONASS in Russia? Or is it cheapo Android Phones picking up the tag and then sending GPS coords into cloud? edit: Nvm, I might be dumb, I guess unless your jamming includes all commodity GNSS it's pretty useless.

> Or is it cheapo Android Phones picking up the tag and then sending GPS coords into cloud?

AirTags have no integration with Android devices. There's a shitty app from Apple you can install that allows you to scan for AirTags nearby, one shot. It's supposedly against stalkers, but it's practically useless. There a bunch of other community apps with varying features like finding and notifying you there's an AirTag nearby. But you can't even track your own AirTags from an Android device, because Apple have decided you must do it from an iDevice. No browser, no Android app. You can check your iPhone's location via the browser, but not the AirTag.

The Android ecosystem has an alternative thing, but depending on the phone manufacturer you have to opt in to your device being used to track trackers around you.

When I travel to places with low iPhone market share, I always have one tracker of each ecosystem, just in case.

Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dude... not cool to put your Amazon `ref` link in there....

It's not theirs, internal Amazon stuff. Also, plug for Firefox and the Copy Clean Link function.

Yeah &ref= is for analytics, affiliate referrals use &tag=.

Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#143
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see it in AirTags, but, haven't used AirPods myself, what is so "magical" about them? Also, my understanding is that AirTags are only usable if you have an iPhone, am I wrong?

That just work. I know it sounds simple but if you have been burned by Bluetooth devices before again and again get unburned by AirPods. Also, they stick in my ear even though all other headsets with cable fell out. I don´t know how

Maybe I got lucky, but I never had issues with my Bose, Shokz, or even with my Soundcore headphones and bluetooth. I don't use in ear, so I can not comment on that.

Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#144
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do the third party ones have UWB/"Precision Finding"?

Nope, but you can play sound. For my wallet it's enough to know I didn't leave it somewhere, then sound is enough. Sorry should have mentioned it's not a perfect replacement.

Yeah. Although I'm normally pretty good, it's mostly what did I leave my wallet under in my house?

Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. They continue to be excellent pet trackers. “They’re not for use with pets, wink wink ”, when if you set out to build a pet tracker from scratch, that’s what you’d hope to end up with.

Pet trackers in which situation though? The times I’ve wanted a tracker on my dog is when we’re out in the woods for a hike and I worry he bolts after an animal or similar. I can’t see how an AirTag would help in that scenario.

That's the part of the "hope" people have with the AirTag is that their pet will happen to wander close to another compatible Apple device to update the tracking. I assume this is also why they are not the "suggested" use

Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#147

The greatest success of AirTags is its silent refutation of the clamoring concern trolling. It's been, what, six years now? The media would pay hand over fist for an airtags stalking story and how many have there actually been?

I mean, i remember a lot of posts about people using them for stalking. It's unclear if this has been addressed or if the concern has been deprioritized, or if apple solved the problem somehow.

I mean it was enough of a concern that Android added a "detect airtags" feature to the base android OS.

Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. They continue to be excellent pet trackers. “They’re not for use with pets, wink wink ”, when if you set out to build a pet tracker from scratch, that’s what you’d hope to end up with.

Pet trackers in which situation though? The times I’ve wanted a tracker on my dog is when we’re out in the woods for a hike and I worry he bolts after an animal or similar. I can’t see how an AirTag would help in that scenario.

That’s a good point. You’re right: they’d be useless there, unless you were so close to your dog that you could hear it anyway. I live in a city and a lost dog would be close to any number of people with phones at any given time, and it’d be very useful there.

Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#149
post #10

> The new AirTag is designed with the environment in mind, with 85 percent recycled plastic in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating in all Apple-designed printed circuit boards. The paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled. I'm no material scientist, but this seems pretty impressive to me that Apple's economy of scal…

Building an attachment point into the tag itself is still beyond current technology though. We just don't know how to do it.

I think the point is to make the smallest unit of functionality possible and then people can integrate that into their use case using attachments, casings, etc. in a way they see fit. It's a good approach for this product in my opinion.

Re: Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fundamental issue preventing keyring aperture integration stems from the AirTag’s reliance on inverse-phase magnetic reluctance in the structural substrate. You see, the enclosure maintains a precisely calibrated coefficient offramular expansion. Introducing a penetrative void would destabilize the sinusoidal depleneration required for proper UWB phase conjugation. The resulting spurving bearing misalignment coul…

I must say you had me in the first couple sentences :). Also does look like it's not an LLM-generated text either. Good job!

Indeed, LLM's still suck at the cultural nuance required for humor. It's like they're writing for an audience that's too generic, so the joke doesn't truly "land" for anyone in particular.
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