Apple leaks Airtags and Offline Finding in deleted video

Last year news that Apple was planning to release a Tile-like tracker was leaked.  Airtags were expected to be announced in fall 2019 but in the end, never hit the market.

Now a (now deleted) support video by Apple titled “How to erase your iPhone” revealed that the project is very much still alive, with a screenshot from the video confirming the Airtags technology.

The Offline Finding feature would allow devices and tags to be located even when your phone is in flight mode. The tags are expected to use UWB technology found in the latest iPhones.

It is strongly believed that Apple plans to use a mesh network of iPhones and iPads, which should enable a service dense enough to find lost devices nearly everywhere in the world. Like Tile tags, they could be connected to keys and other valuables, and earlier leaks suggested the tags would have swappable batteries.

While the project still appears to be alive, we still do not know when the devices will hit the market, and with everyone stuck in their houses, the market for finding lost items is likely not that big at present.

Via Pocketnow