Apple Reportedly Working on Tile-Like Item Tracker Plus Merged 'Find My iPhone' and 'Find My Friends' App
Apple is developing a new app that combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single package, according to 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo. The report cites sources familiar with ongoing testing of the app.
In addition to existing Find My iPhone features like Lost Mode and the ability to remotely erase a device, the report claims the new unified app includes a new "find network" feature that allows Apple devices to be tracked even when they are not connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network.
The app would also incorporate existing Find My Friends features, including location sharing and location-based notifications from friends and family.
The report claims the app will be available on both iOS and macOS as part of Apple's so-called "Marzipan" cross-platform initiative. The app could presumably debut in iOS 13, which will be previewed at WWDC in June, but no timeframe is provided. It is allegedly codenamed "GreenTorch" internally.
Tile-like product tracker
Rambo also reports that Apple is working on a new hardware product in the form of a "tag" that can be attached to any item, similar to Tile. The tag would be paired to a user's iCloud account and rely on proximity to an iPhone.
Like the Tile, users would be able to receive notifications when their device gets too far away from the tag. To avoid false triggers, it would be possible to set a list of common locations to be ignored like a work office so that the item can be left at those locations without the user being notified.
The report adds that users will also be able to store their contact information in the tag and receive a notification when it is found. Apple may leverage its hundreds of millions of active devices to create a crowdsourced network that helps its users find any lost item in tandem with this product.
No release timeframe was provided for Apple's product tracker, but perhaps it will show up alongside new iPhones in September.
Popular Stories
The redesigned MacBook Air with the all-new M2 Apple silicon chip will be available for customers starting Friday, July 15, MacRumors has learned from a retail source. The new MacBook Air was announced and previewed during WWDC earlier this month, with Apple stating availability will begin in July. The MacBook Air features a redesigned body that is thinner and lighter than the previous...
Fifteen years ago to this day, the iPhone, the revolutionary device presented to the world by the late Steve Jobs, officially went on sale.
The first iPhone was announced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, and went on sale on June 29, 2007. "An iPod, a phone, an internet mobile communicator... these are not three separate devices," Jobs famously said. "Today, Apple is going to reinvent the...
Apple last week launched an updated version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and it is the first Mac that is equipped with an updated M2 chip. As it's using a brand new chip, we thought we'd pick up the M2 MacBook Pro and compare it to the prior-generation M1 MacBook Pro to see just what's new.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. For the video comparison, we're using the...
The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern today shared a new documentary about the evolution of the iPhone ahead of the 15th anniversary of the device launching on June 29, 2007. The documentary includes an interview with Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak, iPhone co-creator Tony Fadell, and a family of iPhone users.
One segment of the interview reflects on Android smartphones gaining larger...
With many customers choosing to upgrade their iPhone every two or three years nowadays, there are lots of iPhone 11 Pro users who might be interested in upgrading to the iPhone 14 Pro later this year. Those people are in for a treat, as three years of iPhone generations equals a long list of new features and changes to look forward to.
Below, we've put together a list of new features and...
Apple today began selling refurbished Mac Studio models for the first time in the United States, Canada, and select European countries, such as Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
In the United States, two refurbished Mac Studio configurations are currently available, including one with the M1 Max chip (10-core CPU and 24-core GPU) for...
There appears to be a serious bug in macOS High Sierra that enables the root superuser on a Mac with a blank password and no security check. The bug, discovered by developer Lemi Ergin, lets anyone log into an admin account using the username "root" with no password. This works when attempting to access an administrator's account on an unlocked Mac, and it also provides access at the login...
Top Rated Comments
You don’t have any friends.
....hey siri find me some friends
I'll stick em on my kids!
Au contraire, Mr. Anxiety; the others and I love our chains! We only ask that, perhaps if your benevolence finds it appropriate, the chains be extended from a generous two meters to… say, two-and-a-half? Please?