Apple AirTag 4 review: Is it Perfect worth it?

Like what you heard? You might like the Apple AirTag. These small trackers are supposed to make it easier to find things that you lose, like keys that you leave at the park or something that gets stuck between the couch cushions.Over the course of a week, I tested two Apple AirTag 4 review to see how well they really work. I used the tags to find things around my house and even sent them out with other people to see how accurate they were. I also talked to travel experts who use AirTags to learn more about the technology’s pros and cons.

How the AirTag works

AirTags can help you find more than just your keys. They’ve quickly become necessary for many tourists because they help them keep track of their bags, IDs, and other Apple AirTag 4 review important things. The tracks can be used anywhere as long as there are iPhone users nearby. Unlike many GPS trackers, they don’t charge a monthly fee.

AirTags send out a Bluetooth signal that can be picked up by your Apple AirTag 4 review phone and other Apple devices nearby that use the “Find My” network. This lets you know exactly where your things are. As long as you are close to the tracker, you can use its Precision Finding tool to find your lost items. If you’re not near your phone’s Bluetooth range, your AirTag will ping other iPhones and send you information about where it is.

Because of this, the tracks give the most Apple AirTag 4 review exact information when they are in places with a lot of people. They don’t help Android users very much.Many people use AirTags to keep track of everyday things like their wallet or keys, but they’re also handy for trips.

AirTags are a cheap, simple, and light way to keep Apple AirTag 4 review track of your bags in case they get lost or sent to the wrong place, says Pamela Holt, host of “Me, Myself & The World: The Art of Solo Travel.” “I usually buy a few so that I have one in each checked bag, as well as one in my wallet and passport holder for peace of mind.”

It can help you quickly find your keys or passport in a messy hotel room, easing any fears Apple AirTag 4 review that you may have lost them. Holt also says it can be useful at the airport: “This cool feature helps relieve the stress of baggage claim by letting you check to see if your bag has arrived safely and is still on the premises.”

I tried a few AirTags to see how they work in real life. I tested the trackers Apple AirTag 4 review around my house and also had my partner and father help me to see how accurate they are when they’re not in the house. 

Design

Each AirTag is slightly larger than a quarter, and they have a sleek yet simple Apple AirTag 4 review design. They are small enough to tuck into a wallet, and you can also purchase keyring holders if you want to hang one off your keys or backpack. 

I will say that the trackers are easy to identify, especially if used on small Apple AirTag 4 review items, which limits their utility if your items are stolen. For instance, if someone takes your passport, chances are they’re going to see the AirTag and know to remove it.

Performance

It only took seconds to connect the AirTags to my iPhone after I Apple AirTag 4 review took them out of the box. I just needed to take the tracker’s plastic tab off and put it next to my phone. I was asked to set up the gadget and give it a name and an image to make Apple AirTag 4 review it easy to find. I set up two different trackers, and in the Find My app, I could see both of them under the “Items” tab.

I could use the Precision Finding tool to find the AirTags when they were in my house. You had to be about 20 feet away from the tag for this function to work. It pointed me toward the tracker and made my phone buzz when I got close to it. It also has a button that beeps, which is helpful if you lose it or put it in your bag.

Another thing I wanted to see was how well the trackers worked when they weren’t connected to my phone. So I asked my dad, my partner Nate, and my brother to each bring one to work Apple AirTag 4 review with them one day. Nate took his to golf in the morning and then to work in the city. My dad, on the other hand, took the other AirTag into the woods while he was doing research. To be clear, they both decided to do this for this review. It is against the law to track Apple AirTag 4 review someone without their permission.

Throughout the day, Nate’s tracker was able to give correct information about where he was. The Find My network gave me the address of both the golf club he was at and his office later. The tracker usually gave a new location every few minutes. This was probably Apple AirTag 4 review because there were a lot of people nearby for it to ping. While he was driving, it didn’t update as often, but I could still get a good idea of where he was going.

As assumed, the AirTag didn’t work as well in places that weren’t easily reached. (After all, the tracker can’t get location information if there aren’t any iPhones around.) When my Apple AirTag 4 review dad was working in the country, the AirTag I gave him didn’t tell anyone where he was for more than two hours. After he got out of his car, the last time the AirTag was seen, there were no more people in miles. That means that if you lose your wallet while hiking in the woods, your AirTag probably won’t help you find it. 

Privacy

Anyone who uses a tracking device worries about their privacy. Apple AirTag 4 review have many safety features to ease those fears. Apple says that your past and location data are not kept on the AirTag itself. Also, when the trackers talk to other iPhones, all of the data is encrypted and private. Apple doesn’t even know where your AirTag is at any given time; only Apple AirTag 4 review you do.

There are also protections in place so that other people can’t follow you around without your knowledge. After carrying my AirTags around for a few hours, both of my testing helpers got alerts on their iPhones that an AirTag was following them. They got the Apple AirTag 4 review serial number, the time it first showed up, and the last four digits of my phone number from their phones. There was also a way to turn off the AirTag if needed.

AirTag works by using the iPhones that are nearby to figure out where you are instead of GPS. Other iPhones with Bluetooth tell the AirTag where that phone is in relation to itself. For example, if my phone is in location A and is 10 meters away from the AirTag, the AirTag knows it is within 10 meters of location A.

It’s not as accurate as a GPS tracker because other people have to be near the Apple AirTag 4 review for it to work. However, since the iPhone is the most famous phone in the world, this isn’t as much of a problem. Basically, any iPhone can be used as a mast to find your AirTag’s position.

I tried a few things with this and had my wife walk around central Apple AirTag 4 review London with one. It would update about every 30 seconds, which would make the map show you where it is. You can also set the AirTag to “lost.” If this happens, you’ll get a message Apple AirTag 4 review the next time an iPhone picks it up.

Battery life

One of the best things about Apple AirTag 4 review is that their batteries last a long time. You shouldn’t have to worry about bringing a charger or extra batteries with you on your trips because these trackers should last for more than a year on a single charge. If the battery in your AirTag runs out, it will let you know on your phone. To change the CR2032 coin cell battery inside, just twist off the back cover.

All of this means that the Apple AirTag 4 review is easier to find when there are more people around. This makes it much more useful in cities than in the country. I tried them in both downtown London and a small village in Kent. As expected, I didn’t find them as useful in the country with fewer people. It still works, but the Apple AirTag 4 review doesn’t get pings as often.

You can’t follow the AirTag’s path on a map like you can with a GPS, but you can see where it is on a map when it’s ping. If you have an iPhone 11 or later, you can also use your phone to get a better idea of where the AirTag is once you are within range. Your phone will first tell you how far away the AirTag is and then the exact direction it is going as you get closer.It’s easy to use and works well; I tried it by having someone hide an AirTag, and it didn’t take me long to find it. 

Price

The AirTag is one of the best deals when it comes to price. One tracker costs less than $30, and you can get a pack of four for that price. There is also no regular fee for them. If you pick a GPS tracker, you will almost certainly have to pay a monthly fee to use the network, which can add up quickly.

One example is the Tracki GPS Tracker, which doesn’t cost much to buy at first but charges $20 a month for a membership. GPS trackers get their location information from satellites, not from other iPhones, so this extra cost might be worth it if you’re going to a rural area with few people. If you’ll be in a crowded area, however, an AirTag is a better choice. 

Apple AirTag vs Tile

The Tile is another well-known tracking device that works the same way as the AirTag. Tile has four different types of trackers in different sizes and shapes. The Tile Mate is most like an AirTag in shape, while the Tile Slim is like a credit card and can fit in a pocket. The Tile Sticker is a small sticker that looks like a button. The Tile Pro is bigger than the Tile Mate and has a longer range and a battery that can be changed.

AirTags and Tile trackers are not the same in a few important ways. Tile products can be used on both Apple phones and tablets, but AirTags goods can only be used on Apple phones and tablets. Tile trackers can be found in the same way: through Bluetooth if they’re close by or through the Tile network of users if they’re farther away.

However, these trackers can only talk to phones that have the Tile app installed. AirTags, on the other hand, can ping any iOS device. There are also some Tile functions that cost money to use. You have to pay $29.99 a year for the Tile Premium plan if you want to share the tracker with someone else, get smart alerts, or see where the tracker has been in the past. 

Never Lose Anything Again

Trackers for people, cars, and other things are a pretty big business. Samsung sells the SmartTag 2 for $29.99 to people who own Galaxy phones or computers. Tile, the only other big player in the market, makes low-cost Bluetooth trackers that let you beep them when you lose your keys. The AirTag rivals with Tile for iPhone and iPad users. Life360 now owns Tile. Life360 offers a service that lets family members use a mobile tool to find each other. Since the purchase in late 2021, it hasn’t come out with any new trackers.

AirTags can be found from farther away, are easy to set up, and can find things in more directions than Tiles. Tiles come in more shapes and sizes than AirTags, and you can call your phone from the Tile or the other way around. However, their Bluetooth range is limited to about 400 feet. AirTags, on the other hand, have an unlimited range as long as there is an iPhone close.

A single AirTag costs $29, or a set of four costs $99. You’ll also need to buy holders for them: The Tile and SmartTag 2 both have lanyard holes, but the AirTag doesn’t. You can get a FineWoven key ring from Apple in Black, Coral, Mulberry, Pacific Blue, or Taupe for $35. They also sell a white leather loop case for $39.

At start, you could get leather and plastic holders, but those are no longer available. Since this is Apple, there is already a huge community of third-party apps. You can get basic keychains from Apple for $19.95 from OtterBox or $12.95 from Belkin. Amazon also has a lot of generic keychains and loop cases that start at $2.99. 

Magic Finding Powers

It feels like magic to set up and find things. If you hold a new AirTag up to your iPhone or iPad, it will find it on its own. Then the Find My app will start to look for it. You can name it anything you want. You can tell the AirTag to make a whistling sound or play hot-and-cold with distance to help you find it.

My AirTags said they were “connected” when I was within 45 feet, and when I got to about 30 feet, a distance display showed up. Thanks to the ultra-wideband (UWB) pointing protocol, if you have an iPhone 11 or later, that distance display comes with a helpful arrow that points in the right direction. You have to buy the $39.99 SmartTag+ if you want UWB in a Samsung tag. Tile doesn’t have any. 

Apple Makes Losing Things Less Annoying

Apple doesn’t usually come up with new types of products; instead, it takes other people’s ideas and makes them less annoying. Both the iPod and the iPhone were not the first MP3 players or smartphones, but they made it easier to set up and use their categories, which pushed them forward. The AirTag is going through the same thing.

Through a tight integration of the tag with iOS, Apple has created a Bluetooth item tracker that “just works,” with great UWB direction-finding and no connection problems. Apple has been very good at making tech-free looks cool, and AirTags are no different.The market still has room for more trackers. You don’t have to buy extras for SmartTags and Tiles.

The Tile Pro is our top pick for an Android-compatible tracker because it is well-made, has a button hole, and works well with other devices. Things that aren’t easy to fit an AirTag or AirTag holder, like narrow wallets and remote controls, work well with the Tile Slim and Tile Sticker. When people or things get lost in less-populated areas, Jiobits, connected smartwatches, and other real GPS trackers work much better to find them. You should get an AirTag, though, if you have an iPhone and frequently lose your house keys. The AirTag deserves our Editors’ Choice award because it looks good and works well. 

App & setup

The AirTags are very simple to set up—just take them out of the box and put them next to your iPhone. After this, there is a simple guide that shows you how to use them. It took me less than 30 seconds per AirTag to do everything.As soon as you connect them to your phone, they show up as an item in the Find My app. To see where the tag was last seen on a map, just select the item.

You can also find out when the AirTag was last seen, which helps you figure out how accurate the spot might be.You can also change the AirTag’s name, make it play a sound to help you find it if it’s in Bluetooth range, use the find function to find it if it’s in Bluetooth range, and put it into “lost mode” from the app.

One AirTag’s battery should last for about a year. After that, all you have to do is change the CR2032 cell. I haven’t had a chance to test that claim yet, but in the month I’ve had them, nothing has shown that they won’t last this long. 

Cost

We’ve tried a lot of different bike trackers over the years, but none of them are really as good as an AirTag. What I recently tried, the Vodafone Curve, cost a lot more than the others—£79 plus a monthly fee—but it has a lot more features and full GPS tracking.

The Tile Pro might be the most obvious competition. A pack of four costs £89.99, which is £10 less than the AirTag, but a single unit costs £30, which is about the same as an AirTag. It’s pretty much the same as the AirTag in terms of how it works and what it does. However, the AirTag is much more useful because it has a lot more users than the Tile Pro, which only has 26 million users around the world.

Conclusion

Overall, I was very pleased with how well the AirTags worked and how easy they were to use. They’re easy to track and easy to use. The fact that the battery only needs to be changed once a year takes away one of the biggest problems with bike trackers right away. This, along with their small size, gives you a lot more fitting options.When it comes to quick tracking, they aren’t as accurate as GPS, and they are less useful in rural areas. Other than that, there isn’t much that I don’t like about them.

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