Apple moved to address many of the privacy concerns raised after the release of AirTags. The item trackers launched with anti-stalking features, but a new firmware update is tightening them up further.
AirTags will start more quickly warning people if they’re being used to follow someone. And an Android app that can detect these trackers is in development.
Apple products have always cost a premium, but they’re also some of the best-made devices and products that you’ll find. Most of the time, at least.
9to5Mac points out that all three of Apple’s Hermès AirTag Key Rings and Luggage Tags are listed as “Currently Unavailable” on Apple’s website, regardless of which option users try to select. It also cites a reader who suggests a quality issue could be to blame.
The Apple AirTag tracker will be a huge hit, if a new survey of iPhone and iPad users is correct. More than 60% of respondents said they planned to buy the accessory.
Most people in the survey said they were satisfied with AirTag’s $29.99 price. But they were mostly drawn to the item tracker because it’s tied into Apple’s global Find My network.
It it “frighteningly easy” to use Apple’s location-tracking AirTag to stalk somebody, a new report suggests.
While Apple says it’s been careful to incorporate anti-stalking measures to stop the AirTags from being used in this way, a Washington Post columnist says Apple’s countermeasures are not effective.
More retailers in Australia are reportedly removing Apple’s location-tracking AirTags from their shelves. This relates to concerns that the trackers’ tiny button batteries could be swallowed by small children.
Earlier this week, office supplier retail giant Officeworks suspended sales of the AirTag. Now other Australian retailers — including JB Hi-Fi and Big W — have seemingly followed suit.
iMac … iPad Pro … Apple TV 4K … AirTag …
So much new Apple hardware, so little time!
And that’s not to mention the purple iPhone or the upgrades and updates coming to Apple Podcasts, Apple Card and more. Jump right into all our coverage of this week’s big “Spring Loaded” Apple event in Cult of Mac Magazine. (And if you’re already caught up on that, you’ll find plenty of other Apple news, reviews and how-tos.)
Our iOS mag is free and makes reading easy and fun, but you also can find the headlines below.
Bad news AirTag shoppers: there’s no hole in Apple’s item-tracker. You have to buy an add-on to attach it to anything. Accessory makers have rushed to put out key rings and luggage tags. But no one makes the item I want: an AirTag pet collar.
The first AirTags reviews and unboxing videos paint a pretty positive picture of Apple’s new tracking tags. After a short time using AirTags, reviewers praise the tiny trackers’ design as “classic Apple” and their precise finding capabilities as “utility-driven augmented reality.”
However, they also point out some limitations — including surprising scuffability!
Apple revealed on Tuesday that iOS 14.5 and the iPad equivalent will reach customers iPhones and tablets some time “next week.” These include a rush of new features, like unlocking an iPhone with an Apple Watch. And a controversial change that make it harder for apps to track users for ads.
To help make the launches possible, developers were given access to the release candidates for these upcoming operating system versions on Tuesday. They can both look for bugs and test their own applications with the new OS versions.
Wow, that was the speediest, most jam-packed Apple event in recent memory.
It was so quick-moving, we all got whiplash. There was barely time to catch your breath between announcements: Here’s a new purple iPhone. Fuggedaboutit, here’s a new Apple TV, and new AirTags. Oh, and hers’s new iMacs — and iPads!!
In an hour, Tim Cook and Co. managed to introduce a raft of products with dozens of new features and technologies while dazzling us with some pretty jaw-dropping promo videos.
Once again, the prerecorded format worked well. The promo videos in Tuesday’s “Spring Loaded” event looked super. They hit us with a great mix of head-spinning effects and angles, humor and product placement.
Here are some thoughts and initial reactions to some of the major announcements:
