It has fitted state-of-the-art tracking technologies into its line of devices. A user is able to locate devices, monitor movements, and, in some cases, find lost items. Principally, these tracking capabilities are facilitated by the Find My network, a feature that uses a combination of hardware, software, and cloud services to effect accurate and reliable location tracking.
The Find My app is at the center of Apple’s tracking system; it can locate iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, AirPods, and even users’ keys or wallets with an AirTag attached. This basically turns a user’s device into a part of the Find My network—an incredibly large, encrypted, and nameless network composed of millions of Apple devices all over the world—after Find My is activated on their Apple device. This network utilizes BLE—Bluetooth Low Energy—to broadcast the location of misplaced devices to an owner, even if the device is offline.
The way this will work is that when a user misplaces an Apple device, it will emit a secure Bluetooth signal, which is then detectable by nearby Apple devices. These devices subsequently relay the information to Apple’s servers, which, in turn, transmit to the owner’s Find My app the lost device’s location. Importantly, this process is designed to protect user privacy: it is end-to-end encrypted; therefore, only the device owner can see the location, not Apple or the devices relaying such data.
In the case of tracking devices that are not made by Apple, there is a small disc-shaped Apple device called an AirTag. It can be attached to personal belongings or devices. AirTags work great with the Find My network and use the same BLE technology in order to broadcast their location.
Just like an Apple device, if you lose your AirTag, it will show up in the Find My app. Besides, AirTags include something called Precision Finding, which leverages the U1 chip in newer iPhone models to provide ultra-wideband technology designed for highly accurate location tracking at close range. As a result, it is capable of providing users with locations accurate to inches for their items.
Another major strength of Apple’s tracking technology is its defense against unwanted tracking. If some AirTag that doesn’t belong to a user is moving with them, an alert would be triggered on the owner’s iPhone. It helps in ensuring that AirTags won’t be used for any kind of malicious tracking; hence, more emphasis is laid on user privacy by Apple.
Ultimately, Apple’s tracking devices and technologies are just further examples of how innovative the company can really be in improving the user experience and security. Apple makes use of a large, spread-out network of devices to come up with a reliable way for tracking and locating missing devices with maximum respect for privacy. Whether it’s through the Find My app or with AirTags, Apple has made it easier than ever to keep tabs on stuff and stay connected with devices people love.
Arnold