This handy device is likely to be Apple's next billion dollar business.
AirTags are small coin-sized discs with removable batteries that is tied to Apple Find My software in your iPhone. AirTags can be put in a wallet or purse, attached to car keys or bicycles etc. etc., and allow users to track and locate them via the Find My app. It also includes a precision tracking feature that allows the phone to point specifically to where an item is.
Apple is keen to point out the importance of privacy in all these features. No location data is stored within the AirTag, all communication with that network is encrypted and anonymous, and the trackers feature a range of technologies intended to keep them secure, including alerting people if an AirTag is tracking them to stop them being used for stalking.
The AirTags cost $29, or can be bought as a four pack for $99. They will be available 30 April. Apple also said that it had worked on leather holders for the items with Hermes, but did not reveal a price for those.
What makes this very interesting from a commercial perspective is that Apple has over 1 billion devices that already have the Find My app on them. If Apple sold 35 million AirTags in their first year, which seems highly likely, it would bring in just over $1 billion in revenue.
Even before this new product, Apple's apps and services business alone will bring in about $100 billion in calendar 2021, which if spun out, would be a Fortune 100 company in its own right.