Apple is set to release a new version of its popular AirTag item tracker sometime in 2025. Codenamed B589, this update to the 2021 device is currently undergoing testing with manufacturing partners in Asia according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The new AirTag is expected to have a more powerful chip for better location tracking

Specific details about the new AirTag are not available, but Gurman anticipates a more powerful chip for improved location tracking. This aligns with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s prediction from October 2023, who also suggested a 2025 release and potential compatibility with Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro technology.

While official features remain under wraps, Gurman has expressed his desire for a louder speaker, longer battery life, and a wallet-friendly version of the AirTag. It’s worth noting that third-party companies already offer wallet-compatible trackers that work with Apple’s Find My network.

Apple has been at the forefront of implementing anti-stalking features in item trackers, and they’ve consistently improved these safeguards over time. This focus on user safety has prompted other manufacturers to adopt similar measures in an effort to prevent misuse of tracking devices.

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Apple introduced the AirTag in 2021 to help people easily locate their lost or stolen belongings. This product has exceeded both the company’s and users’ expectations in this regard. Numerous theft cases have been solved thanks to this technology. For example, we recently discussed how AirTags were used to thwart a restaurant thief. However, the recent attention on this tracking device is somewhat comical. Washington D.C. is providing its residents with free AirTags to assist in tracking stolen cars. Here are the details…

Washington D.C. Uses Technology to Combat Car Theft with Free AirTags

The city of Washington D.C. announced a new initiative to distribute free Apple AirTags to drivers in selected police service areas in an effort to combat the rise in car thefts. The program is currently available to residents who live in Police Service Areas 106, 501, 502, 603, 605, and 606.

Washington D.C. has seen a significant increase in car thefts in recent years. In 2022, there were over 8,000 car thefts reported in the city, up from 6,000 in 2021. The city’s police department has been struggling to keep up with the rise in car thefts, and the new AirTag program is seen as a way to help them recover stolen vehicles more quickly and efficiently.

Washington D.C. police are hoping that the AirTags will help them to recover stolen vehicles more quickly and efficiently. If a car is stolen and has an AirTag in it, the police can use the Find My app to track the car’s location. This information can then be used to dispatch officers to the car’s location and recover it.

The program is still in its early stages, but it has already been met with positive feedback from residents. Many people are grateful to the city for taking steps to address the problem of car theft.

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The Apple AirTag was first unveiled back in 2021 and was the company’s new compact smart tracker. This tiny gadget helped users keep track of precious possessions. A successor dubbed AirTag 2 was recently rumored to launch in 2024, but this release might have been delayed.

Apple AirTag 2 Launch Postponed

The Cupertino based giant was initially planned to announce the AirTag 2 smart tracker next year. But according to the latest report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the release of the upcoming device has been delayed. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the iPhone maker’s AirTag 2 mass production plans have been postponed. Kuo has claimed that the mass production will only begin by 2025.

Previously, Ming-Chi Kuo had claimed that the mass production of AirTag 2 would begin by the fourth and final quarter of 2024. The analyst added that Apple wants to build a new spatial computing ecosystem, with the Vision Pro at the center of other devices. This would include the AirTag 2 as well. Unfortunately, it is still unclear just how the smart tracker will function or integrate with the Vision Pro. Although there are speculations that the AirTag 2’s UWB chip could be used to share positional information with the headset.

The AirTag 2 is expected to launch with improvements over its predecessor, which could imply a higher battery life and wider range. However, this is still just a speculation so take this report with a pinch of salt. So stick around for more as we will be providing more updates when additional information is available regarding this device.

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Despite being overshadowed by security concerns and privacy issues since its debut two years ago, Apple‘s AirTag tracking device remains a topic of interest among tech enthusiasts. A major talking point is the potential development of its sequel, the AirTag 2, rumored for release as early as the end of 2024. However, this information is far from official and is largely based on the speculation of revered analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo.

The new Airtag 2 is expected to be designed around Apple’s newer products, like the Vision Pro

Kuo’s vague prediction of the AirTag 2’s production commencing in the fourth quarter of 2024 suggests uncertainty. Though his inside sources often provide reliable insights, the current information seems speculative, primarily hinging on the commercial success of the original AirTag, whose sales figures are not publicly disclosed.

Nevertheless, it’s apparent that Kuo sees the AirTag’s sales performance as robust enough to justify the production of a second-generation device. It’s difficult, however, to predict the exact capabilities, features, and upgrades the AirTag 2 might bring to the table due to the distant prospective release window. Whether it will hit the shelves during the last quarter of next year or in the first few months of 2025 remains a mystery.

Intriguingly, Kuo envisions a larger role for the AirTag 2, which he believes will be central to Apple’s spatial computing ecosystem. This setup is expected to revolve around the Vision Pro headset, another product under Apple’s umbrella. Although the specifics of this integration remain unclear, it hints at a potential shift in Apple’s product dynamics. It holds the promise of not only addressing the shortcomings of its predecessor but also laying down new paths in Apple’s future ecosystem.

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Technology continues to make our lives easier and accomplish things that were once thought impossible. For instance, GPS devices which used to be very expensive and large are now much more affordable and smaller thanks to technologies like AirTag. As a result, people are using these technologies to secure and track their valuable items. This leads to interesting stories almost every week. The most recent one occurred in South Carolina, where a thief was arrested for multiple burglaries, thanks to location tracking by an Apple AirTag.

AirTag Helps Police Track Down Restaurant Burglar

Without a doubt, the AirTag is one of the most practical products produced by Apple. This small yet effective item, which you can attach to your keychain, wallet, motorcycle, or even your pet’s collar, allows you to track the location instantly, preventing you from losing things that are valuable to you. The device is also a nightmare for thieves.

For example, not long ago, we told you a story about how a man was able to recover his valuables worth $7k that were stolen from his hotel room, all thanks to AirTag. Now, a thief was caught by the police, thanks to this technology.

The police have reported that a man from South Carolina is said to have stolen a dummy safe from the Sneaky Beagle back in July. The safe was fitted with an Apple AirTag, a device that helped the police track the man’s actions. His movements led the police to a series of other thefts in the area.

The man, named Smith, is believed to have stolen cash, money bags, and other items from four different restaurants. The total value of what was stolen is still being worked out, but it is thought to be somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000. Smith was taken into custody last Friday and is now in Horry County Jail. His court date is set for August 1.

As we previously mentioned, this isn’t the first time the AirTag technology has been used in theft cases. However, this technology does have serious drawbacks. For instance, an event that emerged at the start of July revealed that an AirTag was used by a stalker to track US actress Hannah Rose May.

The only thing that prevented the situation from escalating was a “Find My” notification on her iPhone. As you can see, the AirTag, with its advantages and disadvantages, is one of the most controversial technologies of recent years. However, it’s still possible to turn unfortunate situations around with this device. What are your thoughts on this issue? Should tracking technologies continue to be used, or are the risks greater than the benefits?

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Technology continues to make our lives easier. We can now use various trackers to keep track of our belongings, which we might worry about losing. The most popular tracker is Apple’s AirTag, but there are also other options available. For example Jio has launched a new tracking device in India called the JioTag, as an affordable option for locating your lost items. Here are the details…

The JioTag Has a Replaceable Battery That is Said to Last for Up to a Year

Jio has recently launched its new tracking device, the JioTag, in India. The JioTag is a small, portable device that can be attached to your belongings, such as your keys, wallet, or backpack. If you ever lose one of these items, you can use the JioTag to track it down. The device uses Bluetooth Low energy technology to connect to your smartphone. Once the JioTag is paired with your phone, you can use the JioThings app to track its location. The app will show you the JioTag’s current location on a map, as well as its last known location.

If the JioTag is out of range of your smartphone, the Jio Community Network can help you find it. The Jio Community Network is a group of people who have volunteered to help find lost JioTags. When a JioTag is lost, it will send out a signal to the Jio Community Network. If someone in the network finds the JioTag, they can use the JioThings app to report its location.

The JioTag is a very affordable option for tracking your belongings. It costs just Rs. 749, which is much less than the price of other tracking devices, such as the Apple AirTag. The JioTag is also very easy to use. Simply attach it to your belongings, pair it with your smartphone, and you’re ready to go. If you’re looking for an affordable and easy-to-use tracking device, the JioTag is a great option. It’s small, portable, and easy to use.

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Oppo’s groundbreaking Zero-power Communication technology, which was outlined in a white paper last year, has resulted in the development of a functioning Zero-Power Tag prototype. The cutting-edge device is being showcased at the MWC 2023 expo. 

What sets the Zero-Power Tag apart is its ability to operate without a battery, a feat made possible by its utilization of key technologies such as RF signal harvesting, backscattering, and low-power computing. By extracting energy from the surrounding environment, the device can function independently and communicate wirelessly, catering to the diverse needs of IoT in the 6G era some years down the line. 

Zero-Power devices are designed to derive energy from ambient radio signals emitted by sources such as FM radio towers, TV towers, cellular base stations, and WiFi access points. The harvested energy is then used to modulate ambient radio signals with the device’s own information, which can then be transmitted outwards via backscattering communication. 

In the not-too-distant future, IoT devices may be able to draw energy directly from Bluetooth, WiFi, and cellular signals, resulting in smaller, more durable, and more cost-effective devices. Electronic tags, for example, could be utilized for item tracking without the need for battery replacement or recharging. The Zero-Power Tag prototype we examined was a plastic rectangle with an embedded chip, although Oppo informed us that it might ultimately take the form of a sticker that can be attached anywhere.

One potential use case that was mentioned involved monitoring the migratory habits of endangered birds using the device. Oppo’s Zero-Power Tag represents a paradigm shift in the world of IoT, where the use of harmful batteries could be drastically reduced. Apple AirTags, for example, rely on coin batteries that last only a year. However, innovative solutions like the Zero-Power Tag could prevent millions of batteries from being disposed of in landfills, and can be a sustainable step towards eradicating miniature battery waste on a large scale.

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If there’s one thing Apple does very well, it’s making products that are already on the market popular. For example, many companies have been producing and selling various tracking devices for years. However, after the introduction of AirTag, the popularity of trackers increased tremendously. However, the increase in usage has also led to increased security concerns. In response, Apple and other manufacturers have added anti-stalking features to AirTag. However, when this feature was exploited, Tile decided to follow a completely different path. Here are the details…

Tile Adds Undetectable Anti-Theft Mode to Tracking Devices, With $1 Million Fine If Used for Stalking

It seems that there is no right or wrong solution when it comes to tracking devices. For example, it was understood that AirTag was being used for stalking shortly after it was released. Taking immediate action, Apple developed a solution, but this also led to other problems. This time, thieves started to discover tracking devices and steal things more easily using these methods. Tile, a company that produces tracking devices, has announced the addition of an Anti-Theft Mode to its devices.

The Anti-Theft Mode is designed to make Tile accessories undetectable by the anti-stalking Scan and Secure feature, which was previously implemented by Tile to prevent stalking. Scan and Secure was introduced to allow iPhone and Android users to scan for and detect nearby Tile devices to prevent them from being used for stalking purposes. Unfortunately, the feature undermined the anti-theft capabilities of Tile as a stolen device’s Tile could be located and removed. Similarly, AirTags, a competitor product, also had a similar security feature, which could locate and remove stolen AirTags.

The Anti-Theft Mode introduced by Tile disables the Scan and Secure feature so that a Tile device cannot be located by someone who doesn’t own the tracker. However, to prevent stalking, Tile has stringent usage terms, including registering using multi-factor identification, and agreeing to the usage terms, which include a $1 million fine if the device is used to track a person without their consent. The Anti-Theft Mode option is intended to make it easier to locate stolen items by preventing thieves from knowing that an item is being tracked.

Unlike other Bluetooth trackers on the market, Tile does not notify nearby smartphone users when an unknown Bluetooth tracker is traveling with them. This feature makes Tile devices more useful for tracking stolen items than AirTags. Apple has added alerts for nearby AirTags to prevent them from being used for tracking people.

However, the proactive notifications found in the Bluetooth tracker industry were designed to prevent stalking. These anti-stalking measures have been criticized for being insufficient for victim protection, as they can make Bluetooth trackers easily identifiable by thieves. To enable Anti-Theft Mode, users must link a government-issued ID card to their Tile account and undergo an advanced ID verification process that uses a biometric scan to detect fake IDs. This measure is meant to deter people from using Tile trackers for stalking or other nefarious purposes. Tile states that any individual convicted of using Tile devices to illegally track another individual without their consent will be fined $1 million, which is in the Tile terms of service.

Tile is also taking a “highly collaborative stance” with law enforcement, and users who turn on Anti-Theft Mode acknowledge that their personal information “can and will” be shared with law enforcement officials in cases of suspected stalking. Tile claims that these usage terms are “progressive safety measures” that will protect people from being stalked with Tile devices.

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Google is reportedly working on its own version of Apple’s AirTag trackers, based on recent findings from Android leakster Mishaal Rahman. Evidence suggests that Google’s Fast Pair is preparing to add support for a new locator tag product type, and the company is working on Similar to the distributed tracking network Apple uses for AirTags. This new product may have Finder Network branding.

This new tracking device is codenamed “grogu,” “groguaudio,” or “GR10” and will support both BLE and UWB. It will feature a small built-in speaker and be available in a variety of colors. However, there is no information on the design and features of the device. Google’s Nest team has been working on the device, but it’s unclear what the company plans to do with it. Some reports suggest the device will launch in the first half of the year, but it could coincide with the Pixel 8 launch.

AirTags have been a huge hit for Apple, but the company has faced privacy issues with the device. Google may need additional time to consider possible scenarios and develop protections for its version of the tracker. Based on this, it is possible to say that Google will work on security measures to avoid similar problems.

In conclusion, Google is rumored to be working on a tracker similar to Apple’s AirTags, but has yet to be confirmed. Codenamed grogu, the device will support BLE and UWB. Release date uncertain, but likely in the first half of the year or at the same time as the Pixel launch 8. Google may want to consider privacy concerns before releasing a device.

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Apple just made a new announcement in Japan to celebrate the Japanese New Year. The company is celebrating this by offering its customer a free gift card for those that purchase a new eligible Apple product.

As per official notes, the Cupertino based giant is offering a free gift car worth up to 32,000 Japanese Yen (roughly 240 US Dollars) for purchase of some of its certain products during a limited period between January 2 and January 3. The iPhone maker will be giving out the free gift cards that will range from 4,000 Yen for purchasing the second generation AirPods and other accessories. On the other hand, the 14 inch and 16 inch MacBook Pro will get you a gift card worth 32,000 Yen.

Apart from just the gift card, the brand is also offering the first 30,000 customers in Japan who purchase a new iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone SE, or even the iPhone 12 will get a limited edition AirTag with a Year of the Rabbit engraving for 2023 during this promotional event. Furthermore, Apple has also shared the full terms and conditions during this time with additional details.

Keep in mind that the iPhone order placed through the Apple Store app will not qualify for a limited edition AirTag. In other words, those interested on buying this device should complete the purchase from Apple’s official website. The promotion will also be available at the brand’s retail stores in Japan. Apple typically runs a Japanese New Year promotion for many years with last year’s promotion offering a limited edition of AirTag for the Year of the Tiger.

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Apple’s AirTag is a useful tool for tracking lost items, but it also has the potential to be used for stalking. The device allows users to track the location of their belongings, but it could be misused by individuals to track the movements of others without their knowledge or consent. Fortunately, Apple has included safety features in AirTag to prevent its use for stalking. In one instance, these safety features successfully protected a woman from being stalked.

Apple AirTag safety features foil Iowa man’s repeated stalking attempts

Apple’s AirTag item tracker continues to effectively thwart stalking attempts, as demonstrated by a recent incident in Iowa. A man was arrested after attempting to stalk a person he claimed to be married to, despite the victim telling investigators that the two had never had a relationship and the man had been blocked from contacting them.

Carl Steven Shawver, 63, placed an AirTag on the victim’s car in an effort to track their movements. However, the victim was alerted to the AirTag thanks to Apple’s built-in safety measures, which notified them of the device’s presence. Shawver then showed up at the local police department, where the victim had gone to report the stalking, and claimed that the victim was having an affair at the station.

Despite no arrest being made at this point, the victim was alerted to two further AirTags tracking their movements. West Des Moines Police officers located the second AirTag “placed in a wallet and inside a plastic sandwich bag sitting on top of the spare tire.” The third AirTag was eventually found on the car’s subframe near the front passenger tire, wrapped in plastic and in a case.

All three AirTags were then placed into evidence at the police department, and Shawver was arrested after being found in the station’s parking lot. He is currently being held on a $3,000 bond, with a preliminary hearing set for December 19. This case highlights the effectiveness of Apple’s AirTag safety measures, which have been designed to protect users from stalking attempts.

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While the Apple AirTag was introduced as a product to help improve quality of life, there have already been various cases in which it was used for nefarious purposes. Now, two women are apparently suing the company for the grievances they have faced over this tracking product.

The Cupertino based giant is facing a lawsuit from two women that have faced stalking by the use of AirTag. Since its launch, the smart tracking device has been used to track victims and even used by car thieves and others. Apple has tried to fix this issue multiple times but people are still using it for malicious purposes. This time, two women have filed for a lawsuit after the AirTag was used to track them by their former partners. According to the legal documents, the device was used to stalk the two victims and that the company did “little, if anything, to swiftly warn consumers if they are being monitored.”

One of the people affected by this incident stated that her ex boyfriend had planted an AirTag in the wheel of her car and was able to figure out her location. This person then used the location information to harass her. The other woman filed the lawsuit after her husband put an AirTag in her child’s backpack to track her. So now, the two ladies are suing the iPhone maker and are seeking an unspecified amount of monetary damages and are accusing Apple of launching a dangerous product.

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Apple had launched the AirTag smart tracker to help users quickly recover their lost items like wallets or keys. However, this technology has the potential to be used for nefarious acts like stalking or tracking a person. And now, one actress in the US went through something quite similar.

An apple AirTag was put on me to track my location Saturday night. I’m sharing what happened to me so you know what to look for as I had never heard of this prior to Saturday night.

— Hannah Rose May (@Hannahrosemay_) June 28, 2022

The actress in question is Hannah Rose May who shared her entire ordeal on Twitter. For those unaware, Hannah Rose May is best known for her work in Ballers (2015), Shooter (2016) and Altered Carbon (2018). Apparently, an Apple AirTag was put on her to track her location on 25th June 2022 on a Saturday night. She was at an after hours event at Disneyland and got a “Find My” notification on her iPhone.

At first she didn’t think anything of it but opened it later on only to find that someone was tracking her for two hours. She even shared the screenshot that showed her that the current location can be seen by the owner of this item. The map also showed the whole route that was mapped by the smart tracker before she disabled it. Sadly enough, this is not an isolated incident since Hannah also shared this news on her Instagram, and found that a number of other individuals have also gone through similar experiences.

She even shared a way for Android users to find out if they are being tracked too. Apple has created a separate app for Android, which is called Tracker Detect. She also stated that AirTags are the size of a coin, so it is quite easy to slip into a purse or pocket. The Cupertino based giant has not responded to this incident directly so it remains to be seen how this situation develops since no legal or police reports have been filed at the moment.

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A man who went on vacation in Australia has had his expensive equipment recovered, thanks to the Apple AirTags in his luggage. The AirTag assisted the man to track his stolen possessions with the assistance of the police. This is yet another great positive story about the AirTag which has had a raft of negative news lately.

The man is named Graham Tait and the incident happened a few days back in South Australia. His car was broken into in the night and several valuables with an estimated value of $7,000 were taken away. The items included a Sony camera, a notebook, a wallet, and a GoPro. Luckily for Tait, he had been an active user of his AirTags which were attached to the laptop back and Sony camera. Using the Find My app, Tait was able to track down the items.

Tait had lodged in a hotel when the incident happened and the items were tracked to another room in the hotel. Police were called in and his stolen possessions were returned back to him. The Police are now dealing with the alleged thief, according to the report. The name of the suspect alleged to have stolen Tait’s possessions has not been released yet.

This news is another positive and original use of the Apple AirTag and it is satisfying. Criminals have continued to use the AirTag for negative purposes including stalking and robbery. Apple has also made stringent efforts to safeguard the privacy of AirTags owners. There are also measures to ensure that users are notified when a foreign AirTag is in range.

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Apple‘s AirTag has been in the spotlight in recent weeks due to the various illegal uses and activity that has come to be connected with the device. It has been put to sinister uses by criminal minds even with the updated User Guide put forward by Apple to help safeguard users of the AirTag. Apple has now gone further by announcing a series of changes aimed at frontally attacking the misuse of the AirTags, with the rollout of these changes to spread throughout 2022.

The Apple AirTags was released last year with greater functionality and reach than some of the existing Bluetooth-based tracking tags. The AirTags, when combined with the companion app Find My provided a connected ecosystem of iPhone users to help track the device. This has meant that AirTags are increasingly used by criminal minds for stalking, theft, and other forms of criminality. In a statement, Apple said that it had become aware that individuals can receive unwanted tracking alerts for a raft of benign reasons while it has also seen reports of bad actors attempting criminal and malicious misuse of the device.

Apple said it will be providing greater security for AirTags users and provide safety warnings to help guard against further unwanted tracking. The upcoming software update for the AirTags will kickstart the new changes aimed at improving user safety while using the AirTag. The setup will include a warning that the device is only intended to be used with the user’s own belongings, and that law enforcement agencies can request identifying information about the owner of an AirTag. The new safety architecture also includes improvements to the Unknown Accessory Detected alert will now appear for AirTags. This will display the name of the device in the updated version. There are several other updates lined up, and Apple assures that these will further safeguard users from being stalked or prone to the several misuses of the device.

Even with these elaborate plans, there are still fears that smart alecs will continue to navigate around such roadblocks, as observed a few days back when it was reported that AirTags with disabled speakers were on sale on Etsy and eBay. The question also remains how non-Apple AirTags users or the general population can be safeguarded from being tracked.

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The Apple AirTag smart tracking device was recently launched by the company. But just this last weekend, a German security researcher has apparently managed to jailbreak the smart tag.

According to a ArsTechica report, Stackmashing declared that the attempt to jailbreak the AirTag was successful. For those unaware, the new product from the Cupertino based giant is a small object tracker that can help users locate their key chains, bags, wallets, and more. And now, the security researcher stated that he was successful in breaking into, dumping, and reflashing the microcontroller of the company’s new AirTag. As per the report, breaking into the microcontroller basically implied that the researcher was able to both device how the device functions (by analyzing the dumped firmware) and also reprogram the gadget to do things it was not programmed for in the first place.

This was demonstrated by Stackmashing by having the AirTag be reprogrammed to pass a non Apple URL while in the Lost Mode. This mode is the state that the device enters into when the user starts searching for the object the AirTag was attached with. So when someone with an NFC enabled smartphone finds the AirTag, they can tap it and receive a notification with a link to found.apple.com. This link helps the person who found the device to contact the owner.

But Stackmashing was able to replace this link with a URL of any kind after breaching the microcontroller. In the demonstration, the security researcher managed to add a modified URL into the AirTag that would directly lead to the stackmashing.net website. While this doesn’t directly imply a grave security breach, it does imply the possibility of targeted malware attacks that could be made possible.

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Apple has been rumored to be working on a new product named AirTag that will allow users to track any object the device is attached to using the company’s Find My system. Now, the upcoming Apple AirTag accessory has been leaked online.

The leak, coming from Fudge, showcases an alleged Apple AirTag carrying accessory. It looks like a small leather sleeve for the AirTag which can allow users to easily place them within the leather cover, which is attached to the stainless steel keyring.

Potentially AirTag carrying accessory in Saddle Brown.

Looks a lot like this previously reported patent, but take it with a bit of salt though since something similar is easily reproducible in China. pic.twitter.com/HHRi2p4Cyu

— Fudge (@choco_bit) November 9, 2020

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Further, it has the text “Designed by Apple in California” and “Assembled in China” written over the ring. The leather used for this product seems to the same Saddle Brown color that Apple introduced for the official iPhone 12 Leather Sleeve.

However, the leaker also cautioned to take this information with a pinch of salt as it may not be an official Apple product but a Chinese replica based on Apple’s schemes.

The Apple AirTags has been a bit of a mystery. The product was first reported in April 2019 and since then several reports have claimed different launch schedules. Even Apple itself had confirmed that the company is working on it. However, the product still remains unannounced and there’s no information available about its launch date.

Apple is holding a launch event today (10th November) but the company is unlikely to reveal anything about AirTags. It is expected to launch the highly anticipated MacBooks powered by the ARM-based Apple Silicon chipset.

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