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AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks

ifixit.com

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Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks

#201

Post by asdff »

pentae wrote: post #86
asdff wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the thinnest iphone ever that hasn't sat flat on a table for years. Touch the screen and it wobbles like a bar table needing some coasters under a leg. Apple purposely designs their cases to be flush with the camera bump, knowing that for most users, the phone will just live in a case. It's kind of ridiculous to build that baked in expectation for more accessory buying directly into your device, but I guess that…

I have an 11 pro without a case on it and just tried replicating what you're describing and I can't do it. It pivots at most 1-2mm laterally to the left when i'm tapping hard on the left side of the screen which is barely noticeable. When I tap normally (a bit softer) or swipe it doesn't even move. I'm no fanboy but i'm amazed that out of all the things you could critique about Apple it would be this one.

On my SE 2 tapping almost the entire right half of the screen gets it to wobble.

Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks

#202

Post by vineyardmike »

fblp wrote: post #3

I wonder what the internal discussion at Apple was about whether or not to include a loophole in the product. The fact that fixit has gone out and shown how you can add a loophole rather than wasting $13 on an accessory is a bit of a facepalm moment.

Additionally, the nice thing about the keyring is that the airtag is parallel to the keychain loop, while with a keyring its perpendicular - to me this is huge in terms of comfort on my keychain

Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks

#203

Post by GeorgeTirebiter »

polishdude20 wrote: post #153
DoingIsLearning wrote: post #142

What exactly is 'UWB functionality'? Are they using UWB for RF localization? I assume you would need multiple beacons for that? Are they using the phone as a single beacon? Wouldn't this just give you a radius rather than a location?

Yeah maybe. But from what I've heard the product can do, it'll guide you with a heading pointing towards where the product is. It may be that the iPhone has some sort of dual antenna functionality where the difference in time between signals being recieved can be used to find the direction.

UWB works like this: most of the time, the UWB chip ('U1') is 'off' because it draws a lot more energy than BLE does. BLE's signal strength gives a measure of distance -- but generally BLE uses 1 antenna, so what you get is a signal strength for some unit within a radius of a sphere (again, approximately). When the BLE signal strength is considered 'strong enough', the iPhone commands the BLE to send a 'turn on the UWB in the tag' command. Now, the tag sends a UWB burst. Like this: https://media.nxp.com/static-files/34261e70-6908-4e13-8eec-8... The time-of-flight is measured, and the precise distance is now known. More detail is in this presentation https://media.nxp.com/static-files/8cf4341d-f16d-4971-9b92-c... Further, UWB signal strength helps determine the direction.

Above is the FiRa Consortium's literature. NXP makes a similar chip to Apple's "U1" UWB chip -- however, sigh, the standards are NOT compatible. Yes, they are both UWB and use the FCC rules for UWB RF requirements (frequencies, power, etc) -- but for reasons I do not understand, they are different elsewhere (Protocols? I don't know).

Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks

#204

Post by brailsafe »

fastball wrote: post #195
brailsafe wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair enough I suppose, but it still seems a bit excessive. For a first-party example, you could maybe get approx. 30 keychains or a Macbook Air.

Are 1st-party accessories ever the cheapest option, for any brand?

Who was suggesting they would be?

I'd also argue that it's only an accessory if the product either came with it or is complete without it. The iPad has $100 cases and so on, but I've never really felt the need for one It also had a $30 charger, but it came with one. An extra would be accessory, and without it the product wouldn't really work.

Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks

#206

Post by blingojames »

DanBC wrote: post #147

> All three trackers open up with finger power—no other tools required! That said, the AirTag is by far the most difficult, I'm a little bit uncomfortable about this, because it gives access to a coin cell battery. People under-estimate how dangerous batteries can be. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6134a1.htm > From 1997 to 2010, an estimated 40,400 children aged <13 years were treated in hospital emerge…

Just saw a show about this, it seems that children, even at ages of 9, have a tendency to put small stuff in their mouths and/or nasal cavities (even as part of playing, to 'hide' it, etc.) If this is done with a button battery, it can cause lasting damage within hours (e.g. two hours). Please be careful, found guidelines in here: https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Safety_Button_ba... https://www.health.qld.gov.au/news-events/news/button-batter...

Re: AirTag Teardown Part One: Yeah, This Tracks

#207

Post by jjeaff »

FDSGSG wrote: post #171
jjeaff wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you talking about? It's not free, there is a deductible. And it's not anytime you want. It's a maximum of 2 incidences per year. So you pay $200 a year plus $30 for cracking your screen. Or $150 for loss or theft. I'm guessing you could get a third party screen repair for less than $230.

Oh, Apple stores will waive the deductible if you ask. They don't even try to charge it if your device was originally sold in the EU. I've replaced two iphones in the past month, didn't pay a deductible for either. If you break your phone more than twice a year, a regular phone case probably isn't going to cut it. >I'm guessing you could get a third party screen repair for less than $230. Yes, but not 4 third party s…

For 2 years of applecare, the price would be double. Still, if you frequently break it twice a year, then I guess apple care is your best bet. But I don't usually use a case at all and I guess I'm just not that rough on them.
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