Two noted sources for insider Apple information talked about the upcoming AirTags on Monday. That includes a video of one of these item-tracking tags supposedly created by Apple itself.
AirTags have been the source of rumors going back to 2019. There’ve been renders and blurry images, but serial leaker Jon Prosser has what might be the best look yet at Apple’s tracking tags. He obtained an unauthorized video of the product and made it the centerpiece of the latest episode of Front Page Tech on YouTube.
It’s still apparently a render, but supposedly one made by Apple. “This comes from a software engineer who believes that this may be part of the animation that will show in iOS, similar to how animations happen for AirPods and other accessories,” said Prosser.
The leaker goes on to predict that AirTags will be released sometime in the spring of 2021.
That tidbit is at least partially corroborated by TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He said in a note sent Monday to investors that Apple’s item-tracking tags will come out sometime this year.
Why the long wait for an AirTags release date?
AirTags will supposedly be Apple’s competition for Tile trackers. Attach one of these small gizmos to a keychain or a purse and an iPhone can easily track down the device if it gets misplaced. They’ll supposedly use ultra-wideband tech, in which radio signals are broadcast across a broad swath of the frequency spectrum. UWB travels well through walls, and allows distances to be determined with great accuracy.
Apple delayed the product’s release due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Prosser. AirTags will help people find lost objects anywhere they go. But with so many people staying home to avoid the potentially deadly disease, there’s less need for tracking tags.
