Apple unveils a revamped Find My program with support for third-party devices and says devices from Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof will be first to work with it
Apple today announced the launch of its Find My network accessory program, which is designed to allow third-party Bluetooth devices … Source: Apple .
Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof become the first named manufacturers able to connect their Bluetooth products to Apple’s Find My network, giving their devices a location feature tied to Apple’s app.
Apple shifts the program from specifications and testing into an initial partner rollout, making third-party compatibility an active part of Find My.
Second-order effects
Other Bluetooth-device makers now have a defined route into Find My through Apple’s accessory program and testing process, raising the value of meeting Apple’s integration requirements.
For the initial partners, product differentiation moves beyond their own companion apps toward compatibility with the same locator service Apple uses for its devices.
Third-order effects
If Apple continues adding categories and partners, Find My becomes a platform layer for third-party hardware rather than solely a feature of Apple-owned devices.
The later emergence of Google’s network with support for AirTags and other Bluetooth trackers points to location networks becoming a competitive interoperability layer across device ecosystems.
The trend: Device-location services are evolving from first-party recovery tools into ecosystem platforms that third-party hardware makers integrate with to reach users.
Find My privacy guards 1. Devices banded with Find My so if you're given one you can tell it's location-enabled 2. Unknown items traveling with you will pop up on your iPhone/iPad 3. Unknown items traveling with you will chirp periodically (in case you don't have an iOS device) h…
Apple introduces the Find My app that lets you find items that you might have lost. It's Apple's version of Tile. Current supported 3rd party devices are @VanMoof's S3 & X3 e-bikes, @belkin's SOUNDFORM Earbuds, and @ChipoloTM's ONE Spot item finder. https://www.apple.com/...
Apple announces its opening up Find My to 3rd party companies to track items within the Find My App...AirTags getting closer...finally. 😴 Belkin, Chipolo & VanMoof are the first partners. Tile not on the list. Yet. https://www.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
This is a nice detail, third-parties will be able to make UWB accessories of their own (although bear in mind Apple's specifications often have baked in limitations that make them not so useful for many manufacturers) https://twitter.com/...
I'm holding out hope a little longer that AirTags are still coming, but let's imagine they aren't. Apple doesn't normally comment on leaks and speculation, so would they just let this rumor die out over time or would they do a controlled leak that they've been cancelled?
Unlike the AirPower, the AirTags were never previewed by Apple as a future product, so it would be weird if Apple was just like “hey, remember that product we never announced? It's cancelled.”
Although *technically* Apple deserves to provide an explanation if AirTags don't end up coming because of their YouTube slip-up 😌 Okay, that's all I have to say about AirTags for now. Life is very boring right now. https://twitter.com/...
AirTags are absolutely a thing that Apple has worked on. Plenty of evidence that I've seen first-hand in iOS 13 and iOS 14 filesystems, and Apple even mentioned AirTags by mistake in a YouTube video in April 2020. The question is: are they still coming?
This is good, and important. But it also means if someone steals something with a tracker tag, they'll find out it has one and can remove it (e.g. from a backpack), preventing you from tracking your stolen thing. https://twitter.com/...
Yeah, Apple seems to be leaning more on preventing abuse than catching bad actors. Like @MarkRober's Glitter Bomb, Apple seems to rather a criminal be shocked by the tracker and throw it out so you can find it, than you getting all Batman on them yourself... https://twitter.com/.…
Another one of those coincidences where regulatory scrutiny influences Apple's app policies, though Apple will later say this is just evidence of the absence of monopoly power... https://twitter.com/...
“All new VanMoof S3 and X3 e-bike models will be compatible with Apple's Find My network beginning April 15.” iOS 14.5 GM coming on the 15th? https://www.apple.com/...