How do AirTags, Apple's GPS- and LTE-free locators, work?

Apple, one of its most anticipated products, the Apple AirTags. Small tracking devices that you can attach to things like your wallet or your bike to find them later with your phone. There have been rumors about these devices for years, but it looks like they will finally become a reality: in recent months, references to the name "AirTag" have appeared in iOS 14 betas and even in a Apple video now deleted. It is not clear that AirTags will be introduced at tomorrow's event, but. Bloomberg says they will arrive before the end of the year. Youtuber Jon Prosser, who claims to have seen them on video, has posted a render based on what he saw.

If we listen to Prosser, the AirTags will be circular in shape and slightly larger than a bottle cap. The clean design and the other could be defined as an aluminum coin with the Apple logo in the center and the following inscription:

AirTag - Designed by Apple in California - Assembled in China - Bluetooth LE - Ultra Wideband.

Some of the previous Leaks revealed that the AirTags will be able to be located via the Find app from an iPhone, iPad or desktop browser. But how will you find them, if they won't have GPS or LTE connectivity to save battery life? References to Bluetooth low energy and ultra-wideband networking in Prosser's render give a good clue as to how they work.

Ultra-wideband is a short-range wireless communication technology capable of detecting the position of nearby objects with an accuracy of just a few centimeters. Using a bandwidth of more than 500 MHz, it has a high sampling rate. This reduces its latency and makes it possible to locate fast-moving objects. In addition, the lower frequencies of the band are able to penetrate different types of materials and walls.

iPhone 11 uses ultra-wideband technology. One of the functions that will come with this chip is to open cars with digital key support without taking the iPhone out of the pocket. By storing the key in the phone and transmitting it to the car via ultra-wideband.

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How airtag connectivity works.

 The iPhones of the world would participate in this large network in the background, unless the user disabled the option from the device settings.

In other words, if you have an AirTag in your wallet and you lose your wallet on the street, anyone with an iPhone walking by will pick up the signal and log it to iCloud without noticing. That person will not know who you are, nor that there was an AirTag in the wallet, nor that their iPhone has registered the position of an AirTag. You won't know who that person is either, but you will be able to see the last known position of your wallet thanks to that person walking nearby.

AirTags go one step further. Since they combine Bluetooth Low Energy with ultra-wideband technology, users will be able to position them in space using augmented reality. They are likely to come with other applications, apart from locating lost objects. We will soon find out.

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