Yahoo Finance Apple unveils £29 AirTag tracking devices to find lost keys
Apple has revealed new location tracking devices called AirTags, allowing iPhone and iPad users to pinpoint lost items via the Find My app.
The trackers, announced at Apple's "Spring Loaded" showcase event on Tuesday, will use Bluetooth to stay in contact with passing iPhones and will go on sale this Friday for £29 each, or £99 for four.
The announcement confirms years of rumours that Apple would make a tilt for the location tracking market, which has generated healthy income for companies such as Tile and Chipolo.
However, it could also set the smartphone giant against competition regulators in the US and the EU, where Tile has accused it of wielding its market power to suppress their products.
Analysts at Raymond James described AirTags as the "most significant" announcement of Tuesday's event, predicting that they could eventually bring in $10bn (£7.2bn) of new revenue for Apple.
Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of iPhone product marketing, said: "With its design, unparalleled finding experience, and built-in privacy and security features, AirTag will provide customers with another way to leverage the power of the Apple ecosystem and enhance the versatility of iPhone."
AirTags can be attached to objects such as key rings, wallets, suitcases or laptops and will then communicate their position to other Apple devices via Bluetooth. The signal is end-to-end encrypted, meaning that Apple does not know the location or identity of the devices that help find them.
The trackers will also have features designed to stop them from being used by stalkers or abusive partners. iPhone users will see a notification if an unknown AirTag has been moving along with them, while those with non-Apple phones will hear a sound from the AirTag when it has been away from its owner for some time.
With AirTags, my mind immediately went to how they could be misused by stalkers/domestic abusers, but it's interesting to see how Apple has thought about that https://t.co/ogeTn06lsz
— Olivia Solon (@oliviasolon) April 20, 2021
Bluetooth trackers rely heavily on the number of people who use their system, giving Apple a huge advantage. The company claims that nearly 1bn people now use Find My, whereas Tile, by far the biggest competitor, had sold about 26m devices as of last year.
Last January, Tile testified to the US Congress accusing Apple of anti-competitive behaviour, saying the larger company had changing its default location settings to disadvantage third-party trackers and added a new tracking technology, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), that other firms were not allowed to use.
Tile later filed a formal complaint with the European Commission making similar claims. Apple denied any wrongdoing, saying it had made the changes to protect users' privacy. It has also opened UWB to other companies, and Tile is making a compatible device.
Raymond James analysts Chris Caso and Melissa Fairbanks said: "We believe this product category will have very broad appeal (who wouldn't pay $30 to not lose your wallet?), and as such could grow to become a $10 billion opportunity, similar to AirPods, while also strengthening the ecosystem and encouraging upgrades."
