Apple AirTag evaluation

Not an ideal Apple product, mind you. AirTag has room to grow. However it truly encapsulates some critical aspects of Apple’s product design philosophy for both good and ill.

Apple has often excelled at goal-constructed products. Think of Apple’s varied “pod” products over the years: iPod, HomePod, AirPods. All excellent products constructed towards singular purposes (even if the HomePod has now been discontinued, I still contend that it’s a wonderful speaker, just as Apple designed it to be).

AirTags are just such a product. Apple designed these little trackers to do one kind of thing: enable you discover your lost stuff. And they do that well! Very well, in fact. There are just some design choices that I query and finally hope Apple finds a way to address.

At $29, the AirTag value is right. A little more expensive than its Tile Mate or Chipolo One competitors and a little less expensive than the Tile Pro, AirTags are priced more competitively than I imagine many (myself included) feared.

You’ll find AirTags online, and they’re now available in Apple Stores, as well as third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. While delivery dates have already slipped into early Could, I anticipate that Apple will be able to keep up with demand for this particular product. If you wish to get your AirTags engraved, you must count on some shipping delay from Apple.

If I had to pick one phrase to summarize Apple’s approach to the AirTag’s design, it could be “unobtrusive, however not invisible.” One thing that’s clear in everything from the software to the accessories to the precise AirTag itself is that this is a tool that is meant to be observed, even if only for a second. Maybe smartly, Apple isn’t positioning AirTag as an anti-theft machine but as a loss prevention/recovery one.

Unsurprisingly, the AirTag itself is pretty easy, with the white shell of the tracker utterly unadorned save for any engraving you’ve achieved throughout the ordering process (side note: Apple, is there a particular reason why sure frequent, useful emoji, like keys, aren’t available for AirTag engraving?). On the flip side, the stainless metal battery cover is etched with writing, letting you know that this is certainly an AirTag, uses Bluetooth LE and Ultra Wideband, and that it’s assembled in China. All of this writing surrounds the matte etched Apple brand in the center of the cover.

Now, on a sure level, in fact it doesn’t. Is Apple really going to place a hole at a single level of their excellent little circle? No, clearly not (also, now it’s important to purchase an accessory, maybe from Apple). On the other hand, it creates a notable subject for one of the primary uses of an item tracker, and that is keeping track of your keys!

Because if you are going to put an AirTag in a bag or purse, then you definately’re fine just picking up an AirTag. But if you wish to put these on your keys, which I’ve to emphasize, goes to be the reason some people consider picking an AirTag up, you additionally should get some kind of carrying accessory that attaches your AirTag to your keys.

That aside, I actually like the design of the AirTag, as a lot or more than other trackers, no less than as an object. It is like a slightly over-giant go tile. Plus, the battery compartment is easy to open and close, making removing an old battery and replacing it with a new one very simple.

The AirTag has strong hardware, I think Apple could’ve accomplished more to increase its capabilities. Is this a dealbreaker for you? It is not for me. After I think of the drawbacks introduced by the lack of a keyring hole versus the potential tracking power of the Find My network, and then I think in regards to the comparatively limited networks of competing products, I think it’s definitely worth the trade-off, and thus, having to make one other purchase to connect AirTags to my keys.

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