Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability

apple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

431–440 of 778 posts

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

#431

Post by ajdude »

fragmede wrote: post #213
dewey wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm always tempted to buy one of these but most of them seem to be one time usage, and don't have a way to recharge. That always seems very wasteful to me. Any recommendations for a rechargable but thin one, AirTag itself is too thick for regular wallets.

The other direction is just get a wallet that supports a real airtag. Because my wallet is so important to me, the name brand airtag, with UWB-enhanced findability, is worth swapping out my wallet rather than getting a sub-par credit-card find my compatible device. nb, I came to this conclusion after getting an aftermarket credit card device and found it lacking. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZ8C5N7H

I have almost an identical wallet; I really considered using the card form factor but I would miss the precision find too much.

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

#432

Post by wildzzz »

trillic wrote: post #300
cbolton wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably they could easily get a warrant with that information, if they cared to ask.

Victim meets with police, signs affidavit, prosecutor goes to judge with affidavit, warrant written specifically for those items only. Should be simple and even digital if we wanted it to be.

An airtag alone will never be enough for a search warrant. They are not accurate enough and don't prove any actual crime was committed (maybe someone found your looted backpack in the trash). If there was security camera footage of the theft or you knew the thief and the cops could verify where they lived, that could likely be enough.

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

#433

Post by varenc »

storus wrote: post #317
varenc wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an inherent conflict between use as a theft tracking device, and use as a stalking device. Both situations are pretty indistinguishable. Apple is prioritizing reducing the AirTag's utility to stalkers.

Again prioritizing low cardinality event (stalking) instead of high cardinality event (theft) because of "security", making the device mostly pointless, good only to quickly locate some thing at home (assuming battery still holds after the thing being forgotten for years in a closet).

That's a personal preference. I have like 12 AirTags and find them quite useful. The precise indoor tracking functionality is great. Losing/misplacing something happens a lot more to me than theft. Though I do have an airtag I've removed the speaker from, so could be useful in a theft situation.

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

#434

Post by poulsbohemian »

ahmeneeroe-v2 wrote: post #289
plingamp wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My car got broken into in Oakland, California. Multiple pieces of luggage stolen (yes, my fault for leaving it in the car in the first place). Luckily I had an AirTag that showed the exact location of the stolen items. I called the police but they said they couldn't do anything. Apparently, even if I had the location the thief would have to invite them in. Regardless, I was put on a waiting list, they finally called…

It's not your fault for leaving your property in your car. Wild to say that.

Ahem. There are neighborhoods in the US where you leave nothing in your car because otherwise your car will become a target. It's often "the rule" in these places that you also leave the doors unlocked because that way "they" won't break your window trying to get in. They open the door, see there's nothing of value to steal and move on. In other places in the US it's (still but fading) normal to leave your car doors unlocked because "everybody knows everybody and no one would steal from each other." Code switching is knowing which of the neighborhoods you are in and how to adapt.

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

#436

Post by tdb7893 »

nirvdrum wrote: post #396
rangestransform wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

My experience with small police departments in the US is that they either don’t have the time or the inclination to deal with small property claims. If you’re a business they’ll be there in 10 minutes, but individuals aren’t afforded the same courtesy. Eventually, citizens realize it’s just not worth the cost or the hassle to report a crime unless it helps with an insurance claim.

My experience with large police departments in the US is that they either don’t have the time or the inclination to deal with small property claims. Some people tried to steal cars (including mine) in my neighborhood in Chicago, we had them on video and they were still in the area and the police didn't do anything. Large police departments also generally won't really do much. Though my friend in Houston did have the police investigate car break ins at his apartment complex but that might be because multiple guns were stolen from cars (so at least there are certain things that will get their attention).

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

#437

Post by kypen »

fartfeatures wrote: post #428
JoshTko wrote: post #420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The challenge is how you prevent such features being abused by like stalkers

Whitelisting law enforcement so when the owner of the air tag declares it stolen nobody other than a whitelisted law enforcement org could view its location and when they did that creates an audit log?

This implies a level of trust in law enforcement. As a US citizen, hard pass.

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

#438

Post by renewiltord »

trollbridge wrote: post #360
renewiltord wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine they see it the way I do: the SF Bay Area has thieves like this because it's part of local native culture. You get the good with the bad. Sort of like going to the elephant graveyard and being eaten by hyena pack. Sure, it's not your fault for walking around graveyard and getting eaten by hyena. But this is where hyena is. I have lost (and sometimes recovered) many items to these hyena. Ultimately, they are…

But the thieves actually are people, not "wildlife". And there is no reason to tolerate this kind of quality-of-life crime. Nobody is better off for it.

One way or the other, local culture is to do this. Yes, I agree it’s a negative sum choice. But they like it. It’s the same school of thought where a prison abolitionist didn’t report her gang rape: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/why-i-didnt-report...

It’s a coastal elite view.

As for whether they’re people and not wildlife as you put it, I suspect I’m more right than you are. Some of them have almost been acquitted because after killing people while robbing them it was offered as an explanation that they are too stupid to know that killing was bad.

https://sfist.com/2024/09/20/sf-jury-convicts-two-for-2017-m...

> Decuir and Mims were convicted last year of armed robbery, but a jury deadlocked on the first-degree murder charge, leading to this second trial… Attorneys also argued that she had a low IQ…

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

#440

Post by renewiltord »

viraptor wrote: post #426
renewiltord wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine they see it the way I do: the SF Bay Area has thieves like this because it's part of local native culture. You get the good with the bad. Sort of like going to the elephant graveyard and being eaten by hyena pack. Sure, it's not your fault for walking around graveyard and getting eaten by hyena. But this is where hyena is. I have lost (and sometimes recovered) many items to these hyena. Ultimately, they are…

> the SF Bay Area has thieves like this because it's part of local native culture You mean like Coast Miwok or Pomo?

I’m with you but local culture is to run arbitrary tests to see if you’re a “native” or not. The tests usually go back to high school or something.
Post reply on HN