The official name of Apple’s Bluetooth tracking tiles leaked online on Thursday and Apple only has itself to blame.
Apple published a new iPhone support video on YouTube the educates customers on how to erase your iPhone that made reference to ‘AirTags’ that have been rumored to be coming down the product pipeline since last year.
Apple quickly deleted the YouTube video in question, but not fast enough for it to go undetected by the folks at Appleosophy. We didn’t get a chance to see it ourselves, but the AirTags reference reportedly appeared at the 1:42 mark while discussing the “Enable Offline Finding” feature when turning off Find My iPhone.
“Offline finding enables this device and AirTags to be found when not connected to Wi-Fi or cellular,” read the warning inside the Settings app.
The AirTag name confirmation isn’t exactly a huge revelation. AirTag references have been spotted in Apple software since iOS 13.2 was released to the public in October 2019. Many analysts expected the Bluetooth trackers to be announced alongside the 2019 iPhone lineup, but Apple keeps pushing the launch back.
AirTags will reportedly be powered by a removable coin-sized battery, similar to Tile’s Bluetooth trackers. The device can be attached to everyday objects like wallets, keys, luggage and more to keep track of them when they’re lost. AirTags will supposedly be integrated into the Find My app on iOS, competing directly with Tile.
Apple supposedly plans to release the AirTags in the first half of 2020. The rumored iPhone 9 launch date slated for April 15 could be the first time we get our official glimpse of the tiny device, but considering how COVID-19 has disrupted Apple’s production pipeline, we may have to wait later in the year to finally see them.
