AirTags Are HERE — Everything You Need To Know About Apple's New GPS Tracker!

© Apple
On April 20, Apple announced a brand new product based on their existing Find My network, the AirTag—a wireless GPS tracker that for $29 can keep track of all your most important items. The tracker, which includes the U1 ultra-wideband chip, is poised to take on market leader Tile, the tracker company that currently holds 90% of the wireless tracking market share.
The AirTag's functionality is expected to be superior to other trackers due to the Find My Network and the ultra-wideband integration. When an item is marked as 'lost' within the Find My app, the item's location updates on a GPS map every time it is in range of another iOS device. According to Apple's CEO Tim Cook, there are an outstanding 1.65 billion active iOS devices that can help find a lost item as of January 2021. That number is only expected to grow, meaning that Apple's Find My network will be the most expansive tracking network on launch day.

© Apple
Surprisingly, an even more promising feature is the ultra-wideband directional tracking available on U1 devices. While on an iPhone 11 or later—as well as the newly announced iPad Pro 5G—the Find My app will direct you to your item within a foot of its location or even less, as shown in the graphic from Apple. This works from up to 30 feet away, and out of range the item will be visible on a map displaying the item's last registered location.
The cost of these trackers—$29 for a single tracker and $99 for a pack of four—are priced similarly to other market competitors, such as Tile. However, the AirTag does not include a means for attaching it to other items. Keychains and luggage tags are sold on Apple's website for as little as $12 and as much as $450 for Apple's Hermès line of AirTag casings.
The announcement was not without controversy, though. AirTags competitor Tile's CEO CJ Prober has claimed that AirTags are noncompetitive and a violation of United States' Antitrust laws. As Apple battles antitrust inquires from all angles—including Congress, Epic Games, and now Tile—the following statement from Prober is a clear line in the sand:
We welcome competition, as long as it is fair competition. Unfortunately, given Apple's well-documented history of using its platform advantage to unfairly limit competition for its products, we're skeptical. And given our prior history with Apple, we think it is entirely appropriate for Congress to take a closer look at Apple's business practices specific to its entry into this category. — Tile CEO CJ Prober
The AirTag is expected to be a great product for the forgetful among us, but it sets the stage for a final decision on whether big tech companies will be reprimanded for noncompetitive behavior.