Apple’s location tracking Tags detailed in new leak

Details about Apple Tags, the company’s Tile-like location trackers you can attach to things like your keys, bag, or bike, have leaked again. The latest screenshots come courtesy of MacRumors, and show a new “Items” tab, that replaces the “Me” tab in the new Find My app that rolled out yesterday with the global release of iOS 13.

”Keep track of your everyday items,” reads the Items tab when clicking in. “Tag your everyday items with B389 and never lose them again.” B389 is the internal Apple codename for Apple Tags, first mentioned by 9to5Mac back in April. The screenshots were sourced from an internal build of iOS 13 released in early June, according to MacRumors.

As long as we’re here, let’s go ahead and round up what else we think we know about Apple Tags at this point:

The Apple Tags resemble circular discs, as revealed by both 9to5Mac and MacRumors.
The Tags will likely be fitted with Apple’s new U1 locator chip that’s already in the iPhone 11. The chip uses ultra-wideband which can point new iPhone owners in the right direction of a missing Tag and then guide them to within centimeters of it, according to Sixcolors.
3D balloons will provide the visual cues to pinpoint the location of lost items, likely via an AR interface. “Walk around several feet and move your iPhone up and down until a balloon comes into view,” reads a string of code in the internal iOS 13 build.
Like AirPods, Apple Tags can be forced to emit a chime to help in recovery.
The Tags can be paired to a user’s iCloud account by proximity to an iPhone, just like AirPods.
Owners can be alerted if they venture too far from a tagged object, to prevent them from forgetting it. This feature can be overridden in “safe” locations like the home or office.
If a tag is set to lost mode by the owner, any iPhone user that seems to be in possession of the tagged item will receive a notification to return it to the rightful owner, according to 9to5Mac, with detailed instruction provided by the owner if they choose.

Since the Apple Tags weren’t announced at the iPhone 11 event as expected, there’s a good chance we might see them launch at a special event in October. Apple needs a venue to launch those new Pro iPads and 16-inch MacBook Pro, after all.

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https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/20/20875341/apple-tags-location-rumor-roundup

2019-09-20 07:33:17Z
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