AirTags in the test: This Apple tracker finds everything and everywhere

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For two years there was speculation about an Apple bluetooth tracker.

Now it is there and is called AirTag.

On the one hand, it looks like a Mentos chewy candy that is a little too big.

On the other hand, it shines with polished stainless steel and an engraved Apple logo.

The test shows that Apple used the time to market maturity mainly with all kinds of thoughts about data protection and preventing misuse of the tracker. Apple knows well that trust has to be lost here. Because of course a tracker that is used without restrictions can also be used to track people. And so Apple emphasizes that the AirTags were developed for finding things, not people.

Once unpacked, an AirTag only needs to be held near the iPhone for initial setup.

The prerequisite for this is iPhone software version 14.5, which will be available for download in the next few days.

In the test, we already had an iPhone with this version.

The AirTag is then automatically recognized and can be paired with the Apple ID with a tap on the display.

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Users just add a name for the tracker - for example "key" - and can now attach it to an object or simply put it in a pocket.

Connecting the AirTags to the iPhone is very easy

Source: Apple

From that moment on, the location of the AirTag is displayed on a map in the “Where is?” Application, which is preinstalled on iPhones.

This is where you can find other Apple devices that are signed in with the same Apple ID, including iPads, MacBooks and AirPods.

If the object in or on which an AirTag is stuck has now been misplaced, the location can be determined using the “Where is?” App.

It works particularly quickly when it is within Bluetooth range, i.e. within the apartment.

Multiple AirTags can be managed over the phone

Source: Apple

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Then users can simply beep their AirTag via the app to find it.

Alternatively, you can ask the digital voice assistant Siri to do this with the question “Hey Siri, look for my key”.

The tracker then also starts beeping.

Particularly impressive, however, is the "exact search", which is only possible with iPhones from model 11, because, like the AirTags, they have built in the ultra-broadband chip (U1) from Apple, which enables more detailed localization.

The iPhone then shows the exact distance in meters on the display and the exact direction to the AirTag with an arrow.

However, you have to be in the immediate vicinity of the AirTag for the exact search with the directional arrow.

In the test, the signal was too weak for precise localization at a distance of more than seven meters.

If the signal is weak, localization can take more than ten seconds.

However, playing a tone via the AirTag usually helps here.

Of course, this also works with a significantly larger distance.

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But what happens if the key with the AirTag is outside of the Bluetooth range, for example because it was forgotten in a café?

Unlike an iPhone, the AirTag cannot establish a connection to the cellular network.

However, remote localization is still possible.

Size and shape are reminiscent of a Mentos chewy candy

Source: Apple

In this case, the user activates the “Lost” mode in the “Where is?” App on their iPhone.

The iPhones, iPads and Mac devices of other users then help, which automatically detect the AirTag via Bluetooth when they are nearby.

According to Apple, this “where is?” Network consists of nearly a billion devices worldwide.

So if the iPhone of a taxi driver who is driving past the café detects the AirTag, it automatically reports the location to the owner via the iCloud.

According to Apple, this is done anonymously and end-to-end encrypted, so that not even Apple knows the location or the identity of the helping iPhone owner.

Unauthorized tracking with the AirTag does not go undetected

We tested this function in the Berlin urban area with two AirTags.

In fact, we were able to update the tracker's location on the map every few minutes.

However, only the location of the last localization is displayed, but the history cannot be viewed.

According to Apple, it is not stored on the tracker either.

If the AirTag owner activates the lost mode in the “Where is?” App, a telephone number can also be entered there, which is displayed to the AirTag finder when he holds his own NFC-enabled smartphone to the AirTag.

NFC is the radio standard for near-field communication, which is also used for contactless payment.

However, this assumes that such an AirTag function is known to the finder.

After all, it is not a natural reflex to hold your own smartphone directly to someone else's key ring.

Apple has taken some precautions to ensure that unauthorized tracking with the AirTag does not go undetected.

If the AirTag is no longer connected to the owner's iPhone for a longer period of time, it plays a tone.

According to Apple, this period is initially set to three days.

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Apple remains open to readjusting this in the future.

Anyone who owns an iPhone and has a third-party AirTag nearby that is not connected to its owner via Bluetooth will be informed of this via their own iPhone.

From there, it can also play a tone on the third-party AirTag in order to locate it.

Unfortunately no reverse search

Conclusion: Anyone who frequently loses or forgets their things and uses an iPhone will find useful protection in the AirTags.

The tracker works reliably and its data protection and privacy concept is well thought out.

Nonetheless, unauthorized tracking is still possible, just not over a longer period of time.

Of course, an AirTag does not offer theft protection, because the small button cell battery can be easily removed and the tracker can be deactivated. However, it can then no longer be used by other users because only the original owner can remove the AirTag from their Apple ID. Unfortunately, the reverse search that is possible with other Bluetooth trackers is missing in the AirTag. Then a push of a button on the tracker would ring the misplaced smartphone.

According to Apple, the button cell in the AirTag lasts for over a year and costs less than two euros in stores.

Apple charges 35 euros for an AirTag and will be available from April 30th.

Users can personalize them for free on the plastic side with an engraving of four letters or emojis.

Competing products like Tile's Bluetooth trackers cost a similar amount.

But for some functions, for example, Tile requires a paid subscription.

In return, however, users are then shown a location history of their tracker on their smartphone.

Or you will be warned if you move your smartphone outside the Bluetooth range of the tracker and are about to forget your key, for example.

Such functions would also complement the AirTags well.

The price of 35 euros makes the AirTags one of the cheapest Apple products.

Apparently Apple did not want to let that sit on it and offers trailers that are more expensive than the tracker itself. If you choose a Hermès luggage label, the price again reaches heights for which Apple is better known: 449 euros.

But the AirTag with Hermès engraving is included.

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