Enlarge image
Photo: Apple
Apple is opening its "Where is?" Location network, with which it was previously only possible to locate Apple products, for external manufacturers.
The group announced this on Wednesday in a newsroom post.
At the start it was announced that from next week two pedelecs from the Dutch manufacturer Vanmoof, wireless headphones from Belkin and a tracking chip from the US company Chipolo will use the technology.
The “Where is?” Service was introduced by Apple in 2010 as “Find my iPhone” in order to be able to locate lost or stolen devices.
The service was later expanded to include a location function for friends (“Find my Friends”).
Since the operating system version iOS 13, the two services have been merged to "Find my" ("Where is?").
In addition to iPhones, the service can now also be used to locate Macintosh computers, iPads, Apple Watch and AirPods headphones on Apple Maps.
Enlarge image
Chipolo tracking chip
Photo:
Apple
For a long time there had been speculation in the industry that Apple would bring its own localization gadgets onto the market.
The name "AirTags" is used to designate these devices, the existence of which Apple has not itself confirmed.
After the announcement that the “Where is?” System will now be opened to other manufacturers, it remains unclear whether Apple will actually place its own product in this area.
Companies that want to make their products findable via Apple's system have to adapt to the US company's data protection guidelines as part of Apple's "Made for iPhone" (MFi) program.
The function is to be made visible to customers by means of a logo with the words “Works with Apple Find my”.
Enlarge image
“Works with Apple Find my” lettering on a Vanmoof bike
Photo: - / dpa
Apple has also announced that it will provide interested manufacturers with specifications for their own chipsets so that their products can work better with the technology built into current Apple devices and thus enable more precise localization.
All of this should remain hidden from users.
To add a new device to the "Where is?" App, all you have to do is click on "Add object" in the app and then follow the manufacturer's instructions.
As a rule, this should be limited to putting the respective device into pairing mode with a few simple steps.
Observers also see the opening of the service as a clever move by Apple to counter accusations of foreclosing its own products from competing products.
For a long time, the US company Tile was a leader when it came to small tracking devices for lost things.
Now both Samsung and Apple are intervening in this segment.
With its location sensors called Tile, the company of the same name had created a new market.
Tiles can be hung on a backpack like key rings, for example, but there are also products with integrated tile technology, such as certain headphones from Sennheiser and Skullcandy.
According to a report by Techcrunch, however, Tile is already working on a new version of its technology that instead of Bluetooth, as before, uses the so-called ultra-wideband technology, which Apple and Samsung also use.
With material from dpa
