Now we can see the screenshots for Apple’s forthcoming Tile competitor…

OK, which one of you has my keys?

Apple must surely be closing in on introducing its new Tile-competing tracking devices– now it looks like the user interface for the unconfirmed product is already stashed inside an early build of iOS 13’s code.

Apple is playing tag

A MacRumors leak tells us iOS 13 may have an Items tab inside the Find My app. This will show all your tracked items in a list and also on the Map. Not only this, but we’ve got the sales pitch: “Tag your everyday items with B389 and never lose them again.”

Which is nice, but the name needs work…

You’ll also see three little icons: a key, a suitcase and a bike.

Apple is expected to introduce a Bluetooth tracking tag that works with its Find My system, presumably incorporating the mesh-based location finding the company introduced us to at WWDC.

What isn’t being discussed is if Apple will use Ultra Wideband (UWB) for the new product. That’s by no means impossible, given the advantages of the standard and the recent patenting of a process that makes it possible to embed this tech inside plastic.

I guess we’ll find out, eventually.

How this might work

So, how the system seems to work:

• Open the Find My app
• Look at the list of tracked people, Macs, iPhone sand items.
• Tap items
• Find the item on the list
• Wait a little while and see it appear on the map

You’ll also receive a geo-fenced reminder when you leave an item outside of a certain range (or outside of a designated ‘safe zone’.

If an item is lost, you  can make the tag beep loudly, or place it into lost mode. When in lost mode, anyone with an iPhone who comes across the tag will see the owner’s contact data on screen and will be able to contact them.

It also seems possible you’ll be guided to your items using AR on your iPhone display.

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