iOS 13 Code Has References to Apple's Rumored Tile-Like Item Tracker Accessory
A few months ago, 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo reported that Apple is working on a new Tile-like item tracker accessory for tracking the location of belongings through the new merged Find My app. The report said the "tag" would be paired to a user's iCloud account and rely on proximity to an iPhone.
Tile next to placeholder image for Apple's item tracker in iOS 13 via 9to5Mac
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.
Now, developer Steve Moser and Rambo from 9to5Mac have uncovered references to Apple's item tracker within iOS 13 code.
Rambo:
Now, the first beta of iOS 13 includes an asset package for a device with the product type "Tag1,1". This type of asset package is used for pairing devices by proximity, the same way as AirPods and HomePod can be paired to a user's device.
Another asset found on iOS 13 beta 1 also gives us a glimpse as to what this device will look like. It's likely a mockup used for testing that was left out in the OS, but it matches descriptions of the device given by people involved in its development.
It is unclear if and when Apple plans to release the item tracker, which is only known by its B389 codename, but one possibility is that it arrives alongside new iPhones and the public release of iOS 13 in September.
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