Apple’s AirTag tracking devices help you keep tabs on keys, luggage and other valuables.
AirTag is a small, round tracking device developed by Apple. It can be attached to various items, like keychains, luggage or a TV remote, to help people locate the objects when they go missing.
Apple’s Bluetooth tracking tags consist of two halves that fit together to form an oblate spheroid. The two halves twist apart, and one side houses a 3-volt CR2032 lithium coin battery.
AirTags tap into Apple’s extensive Find My network, powered by more than a billion Apple devices in use around the world. AirTags work with iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (running iOS/iPadOS 14.5 or later).
iPhones with a built-in Apple U1 chip (iPhone 11 or later, excluding iPhone SE) enable precision locating of AirTags thanks to ultra-wideband (UWB) technology.
Apple announced the AirTag on April 20, 2021, at its Spring Loaded event. Preorders opened three days later on April 23, with the tracking tags hitting store shelves on April 30.
Since their launch, AirTags have been used in predictable ways to find keys and other lost or stolen personal items using Apple’s extensive Find My network. However, they’ve also been employed in unexpected ways, including for stalking and some criminal activities. Apple added anti-stalking features in iOS 15.4.
How much does AirTag cost and where can I buy them?
A single AirTag is priced at $29 when purchased directly from Apple, but it can typically be found for around $24 at various electronics retailers. Click the following link to find out when there’s an AirTag sale.
For better value, consider buying AirTags in packs of four. Once you use one, you’ll undoubtedly find more items you’d like to track. Apple offers a four-pack for $99, but major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart often sell it for around $75, reducing the cost per AirTag to under $20.
Additionally, AirTags are frequently discounted during major sales events like Black Friday and Prime Day.
Keep track off all your stuff with an AirTag or four. Image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Apple AirTag deal alert! A four-pack of these essential Bluetooth trackers are a whopping 25% below the usual price on both Amazon and Best Buy right now. This means you can currently pick up a four-pack for $69.99. That’s about $17.50 apiece — not the usual $25.
Here’s everything rumors told us to expect from Apple in the next year. Photo: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac
Apple is gearing up for a blockbuster year, with a packed product roadmap that spans nearly every category in its lineup. From an iPhone redesign to upgrades for the Mac, iPad and Apple Watch families, the next twelve months promise a steady stream of hardware refreshes, software milestones and perhaps a few surprises.
Whether you’re a casual user or a die-hard fan, here’s a look at every major Apple product expected between now and next summer.
Sure, you can give them a no-brainer gift like an AirTag, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Photo: Grok/Cult of Mac
Tech travel accessories have become essential companions for modern travelers who rely on their Apple and other devices for everything from navigation to entertainment. Ever found yourself with a dead iPhone in a foreign country or frantically searching for your AirPods before boarding a flight? These scenarios can quickly stress-bomb an exciting trip. Peruse our guide to learn about the best tech gifts for travelers (whether that’s you or someone else in your life!)
JetBlue just made tracking your lost luggage easier -- especially for AirTag users. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
JetBlue Airways now offers real-time baggage tracking through its mobile app and supports Apple AirTag location sharing to help recover delayed or misplaced luggage, the airline said Monday. So now it joins other airlines in AirTag/Find My network integration. As such, JetBlue’s new changes should certainly appeal to Apple device users on the go.
“We are constantly looking for ways to offer our customers a more convenient travel experience,” said Carol Clements, JetBlue’s chief digital and technology officer. “As part of our JetForward strategy, we’re focused on delivering the products and perks our customers want. This new in-app bag tracking feature, along with AirTag location sharing for baggage recovery, are designed to bring customers peace of mind when checking their bags with JetBlue.”
Thieves nabbed this Jaguar e-Pace despite it having two immobilizing devices. Luckily, it also had an AirTag. Photo: BBC News/Metropolitan Police Service
A couple from London successfully tracked down and recovered their stolen Jaguar using an Apple AirTag after police appeared “too stretched” to provide immediate assistance. So they ended up asking, when AirTag finds a stolen car, who needs the cops?
Mia Forbes Pirie and her husband Mark Simpson discovered their $60,000 Jaguar E-Pace missing from outside their home June 3. They called the police and even explained the bit about the AirTag showing the car’s specific location in town. But they found themselves on their own, at least at first.
★★★★☆
Ugreen's pair of trackers are effective and affordable. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
Ever misplaced your wallet or keys right when you’re rushing out the door? This Ugreen Smart Finder tracker review might help solve that universal frustration on the cheap. Whether you’re considering the standard Smart Finder or its wallet-sized counterpart, both promise to keep your valuables just a tap away through Apple’s Find My network.
These Bluetooth trackers pack some interesting features that set them apart from typical item finders — specifically their compact design, reliable tracking capabilities and low prices.
AirTag 2 could come out in May or June with some new features. Photo: Mark Chan/Unsplash
Apple will launch the second-generation AirTag tracking device in May or June, according to a new leak Monday. The timeline, shared by leaker Kosutami on social media, aligns with Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s earlier prediction of a mid-2025 release for the device with a handful of new features.
Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed Thursday that his company plans to launch a new product on February 19. He didn’t say what’s on the agenda, other than using a social media post to tease “the newest member of the family.”
There are actually several Apple products that rumors indicate could launch then, including AirTag 2, a new HomePod, the iPhone SE 4, and the MacBook Air with an M4 processor. If you’re curiouswhen does the new MacBook Pro come out, reports suggest Apple may introduce it alongside other anticipated products.
Apple has mostly neglected three of its products, but that’s reportedly about to change. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
iPhone and Mac get all the attention — and the annual upgrades — but you can expect a trio of Apple products that haven’t been improved in years to get some love from Cupertino in 2025.
Fans of some of Apple’s secondary devices rejoice: Rumors point to new versions of Apple TV, AirTag and HomePod in the coming months. If you’re an AirTag user, it’s important to stay updated with the latestAirTag firmware update to ensure optimal performance.
An AirTag in a bag can find a solution to an absolute calamity. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Traveling is a lot easier if you can keep track of your stuff with AirTags in your luggage. It’s been in the news lately: Airlines have lost flyers’ bags and people have recovered them because they had the foresight to put an AirTag in the luggage. You can make sure it’s with you all the way along your journey and quickly find it among the baggage claim at your final destination.
Spigen's Tag Me Bluetooth Tracker costs just $12 apiece right now. Photo: Spigen
For Apple users looking for tracking solutions even more affordable than AirTag, Spigen recently launched its new Tag Me tracker, which works with the Find My network. You can get a discounted Tag Me Bluetooth Tracker pack of four at a price that comes out to just $12 apiece (AirTags usually go for over $20 apiece).
These five Apple products could make you go wow this year. AI image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac
Imagine a Siri capable of opening your preferred email client on your iPhone and sending an important email seamlessly. Picture an Apple-branded smart home hub, elegantly wall-mounted in your kitchen, equipped with Apple Intelligence for instant access to smart home controls and a conversational voice assistant. Envision an iPhone just 6mm thin, standing out for its ultra-sleek, stylish design.
All of this could turn into a reality in 2025, with Apple already working on these devices and services for launch next year.
Stick an AirTag in your car in case it's stolen. Photo: Mark Chan/Unsplash
The Apple AirTag is arguably among the company’s most useful product releases in recent years. Once you set up an AirTag, it gives you powerful options for locating it (and whatever you attach it to). Put one of Apple’s tracking tags on an item like a keychain or luggage, and you can easily track its location from your iPhone, Mac, or iPad. If you’re wondering,do AirTags make noise, the answer is yes, but only in specific circumstances.
Since AirTag’s launch, numerous reports have detailed how the tracking tag helped owners find lost items. If you recently acquired an AirTag, here’s how you can set it up the right way and use it properly.
You can share an Apple AirTag with up to five people. Here’s how. Photo: Apple
When Apple launched the AirTag, you could link the tracking tags to only one person. Luckily, Apple expanded that. Now you can share an AirTag with up to five other people, so each one can see where it is.
Here’s how to share an AirTag with family members or friends.
TimeCapsule has its drawbacks, but battery life shouldn't be one of them. Photo: ElevationLab
Want to extend your AirTag’s battery life to 10 years and keep the tracker dry and concealed? Well, that’s easy to do with ElevationLab’s innovative new TimeCapsule AirTag battery case. The weatherproof case keeps an AirTag safe and sound — and frees you from swapping out the Apple tracking tag’s coin-shaped batteries every year.
Make things merry with a gift any Apple fan will appreciate. Photo: Luke Southern/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac
If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for an Apple fan in your life, there’s one surprisingly simple answer: Get them an AirTag. Or a bunch of them. With frequent discounts from Amazon and other retailers, AirTags make the ultimate stocking stuffer for anybody in the Apple ecosystem.
AirTag 2 could be even better as a pet finder. Photo: Lesli Whitecotton/Pexels
A new ultra-wideband chip inside AirTag 2 could make Apple’s tracker tag findable at a much longer range than the current model thanks to new UWB chip.
United passengers who use AirTag can now easily tell the airline where their lost luggage is. Photo: United Airlines
United Airlines built support for AirTag’s new Share Item Location into its app. This lets flyers easily show the airline the real-time location of the tracker tag hidden in their lost luggage.
The optional tracking feature debuted in iOS 18.2 on Wednesday.
Don't miss your chance to get AirTags at one of the best prices we've seen. Photo: Kehn Hermano/Pexels
A Cyber Monday sale on a four-pack of AirTags brings the Apple tracker close to its lowest price ever. Each AirTag costs just $18.25 after a 26% discount from Amazon. If you’d prefer a single tracker, you can get a solo AirTag for up to 14% off the usual price from Best Buy. Use these Cyber Monday AirTag deals to stock up on Apple’s tracking tags.
AirTags are a great way to keep you from leaving important items behind, or to help you find them if you misplace them.
Now you can temporarily share the location of your lost bag with your airline. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple added Share Item Location to the Find My app to let AirTag users securely share with an airline the exact position of a tracking tag attached to lost luggage.
Here’s how to use the new feature to show an airline employee that your bag is actually just outside Concourse C in the Atlanta airport, not in Denver where they think it is. They can even see the exact position of the luggage.
Next year might bring an oddball iPhone. Image: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The rumored “iPhone 17 Air” supposedly will delete major features to become Apple’s thinnest smartphone ever — and sell at a premium price. We debate the pros and cons of such a scenario. Plus, Apple reportedly plans to make AirTags even better … and might be reconsidering making an actual TV set.
It’s a rumor-packed podcast!
Also on The CultCast:
We discuss the possibility of Apple selling SSD upgrades for Mac mini.
Apple slipped a surprise feature into the M4 MacBook Pro.
Image Playground produces some truly ridiculous images. See a sampling below. Is this the best Apple Intelligence can do?
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple’s first AirTag upgrade is another step closer to launch, with the tracking tags reportedly progressing to “manufacturing tests.” The company apparently plans to launch the AirTag 2 in mid-2025.
Codenamed B589, the new AirTags reportedly will look the same but provide increased range and improved privacy features.
Now you can temporarily share the location of your lost bag with your airline. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Share Item Location lets AirTag users securely share the location of their tracking tag with an airline. The goal is to help find and recover lost luggage.
“The Find My network and AirTag have proven to be a powerful combination for users while traveling, providing invaluable location information when bags have been misplaced or mishandled,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in a press release Monday. “With Share Item Location, we’re excited to give users a new way to easily share this information directly with third parties like airlines, all while protecting their privacy.”
★★★★☆
Pebblebee Clip is a real help if you need to find your keys. And now it supports iPhone or Android. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Attach the Pebblebee Clip to your keys, backpack or purse and you won’t need to worry about misplacing your item or leaving it behind. You can locate the missing item with your iPhone (or Android), or have the tracker tag play an audible alarm.
The item tracker is a rival to Apple’s AirTag, and both use Apple’s Find My network so they can be located almost anywhere on Earth. But Pebblebee has a new advantage: it just launched a Universal version that supports either Apple’s or Google’s similar tracking service.
I tested the new version of Pebblebee’s tracker tag and found a lot to like. It even improves on Apple’s offering, but not in every way.