My travel bag was able to spend an extra day in Paris after I returned from a trip to France this year. How did I know? I was able to see it on my iPhone, thanks to Apple’s trusty AirTag. You can currently find great deals on these handy little trackers with a the AirTag four-pack is now just $70.
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Until a few years ago it would have seemed like something out of a spy film. The Apple AirTag in my suitcase uses an ingenious method to track itself, detecting its location from nearby iPhones and using them to anonymously transfer the coordinates to a secure server where I can look them up on my iPhone.
Instead of wondering whether my belongings were strewn across the asphalt or stuck on an abandoned luggage cart, I could see almost in real time that my suitcase was still freezing at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. I was able to calmly tell the airline that my bag hadn’t made the flight and they made arrangements to have it delivered to me a few days later.
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Apple AirTags are synonymous with peace of mind
By itself, an AirTag isn’t much. A smooth, round 1.26-inch disk that resembles a shiny white breath mint, sinking to the bottom of a bag or hanging from a key ring (with a compatible key ringsold separately). It is destined to disappear.
Activating the AirTag was a simple process of pairing it with my iPhone. And then, since it obviously doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary, I forgot about it.
But the next time I couldn’t find my keys? Witchcraft. My iPhone didn’t just tell me they were somewhere nearby, it took me directly to them, thanks to the ultra-wideband chip built into the AirTag. Suddenly all that time I’d spent retracing my steps and knocking over couch cushions in the past seemed like ancient history.
I now have AirTags inserted into or attached to every significant item I’d like to keep track of: my everyday laptop bag, my camera backpack, the suitcase I use most when I travel, my key ring, my car, and a smaller shoulder bag that I carry with me. during walks. I can open the Find My app on any Apple device (or log into iCloud on any web browser) and see where my items are and when the AirTags last recorded their location.
Clip an AirTag to a bag or bury it deep.
AirTags aren’t just for my everyday items. People I know in the film business tell me that AirTags are tossed into nearly every Pelican bag and crate, not only to ensure the precious gear inside doesn’t get away, but to quickly differentiate gear between good-looking containers similar. Some of my friends also attach AirTags to their pets’ collars (though some experts say there are better ways to track pets).
AirTags are also useful for things you want to keep close at hand
Being able to locate my luggage a continent away definitely gave me a sense of relief. But locally, my AirTags also trigger an alert when I move too far away from them. For example, if I accidentally leave my camera bag in the car when I stop for lunch, a Find My notification appears letting me know I forgot it. It works the same way for newer ones AirPods also the models.
Sharing is now an important part of AirTag tracking
My family has two cars, but it’s proven inconvenient to pair the AirTag in the car my wife drives to her iPhone (and the one in my car to my iPhone).
To protect against unwanted tracking, an AirTag will alert nearby iPhones of its existence, meaning that every time I drove my wife’s car without her in, I received a notification that an AirTag was traveling with me. (If the owner is near the AirTag, the warning does not appear.)
However, starting with iOS 17, AirTags are shareable. I shared my AirTag with her, and she with me, so no matter what car I’m driving, I can find it more easily in a crowded parking lot.
Share the location of an AirTag with someone you trust.
A new feature coming to AirTags with iOS 18.2, currently in betait is the ability to Temporarily share the location of an AirTag with someone I trust. In the baggage example above, if the suitcase was at the airport with me, but the airport staff had not yet been able to locate it (which is not uncommon during rush hour), I could share its location with an employee who could recover it quickly by moving it away from areas not accessible to the public.
The only small inconvenience related to AirTags
An AirTag includes Bluetooth, the U1 Ultra Wideband chip, and an NFC chip to share basic details when in lost mode. The whole thing is powered by a CR2032 button cell battery, which in my experience lasts about a year before needing to be replaced.
I get a notification when a battery is starting to run low, though there’s no indicator to see how much is left until it turns red. And it’s easy to change the batteries. But my small fleet of AirTags means I have to swap out more than one each year. I buy them in packs of 20 which I slowly process.
The CR2032 battery in an AirTag can be easily replaced.
Why AirTags make great gifts
Apple AirTags consistently appear in our best gift guides because you can always find another use for them. They often come at a reduced price when sold in packs of four. And there’s an ever-growing ecosystem of ways to mount themfrom sturdy vaults that grip a car to discreet fabric holders that will keep your favorite classic bomber jacket from blowing away. Every time I show someone how I use AirTags on a bag or keychain, I wish I had a pocket of AirTags to hand out because someone sees how it works and they get sold.
For more gift ideas, here they are CNET’s picks for the best AirTag accessories of 2024 and our choices for the the best technology that can be given as a gift.
