The program for accessory manufacturers who want integrate into the research application network you have just taken an important step. This is the launch of the application necessary for manufacturers to test the functionality with their devices and this research network. We can therefore see how the launch date is approaching so that other accessories can use the Apple network and find lost items.
An app for evaluating and testing third party accessories in research
“Find My” received a major update a few years ago when Apple announced the new Search Network. Encrypted and private, devices marked as lost by a user, they can rely on other Apple devices around them to indicate their location to the owner. In other words, although having no data connection or being disabled, it is possible to locate them. As long as we have other Apple devices connected and turned on.
The new “Find My” feature will emit Bluetooth signals from Apple devices even offline, allowing nearby Apple devices to relay them to the cloud. This should help you locate your stolen laptop even if it lies in the thief’s backpack.
Although Apple originally only mentions its Mac laptops, this technology applies to all other bluetooth devices. With the launch of this app (via TechCrunch), when you try to open on an iPhone, crasheaba, other manufacturers can integrate their products into this research network. And the user will be able to find them via the Search application on their iPhone, as will be the case with the Belkin headphones.
A new version of Search will arrive with iOS 14.5, adding third-party integration to Apple’s “lost” search network.
This app includes some screenshots that allow us to get an idea of the features it offers. The description states that it tests “location, connection, and other key requirements for accessories you are developing that incorporate Find My network technology.” According to TechCrunch, the app launched on Sunday, April 4.
A platform open to third parties like Tile and with AirTag in mind
A few years ago, Tile accused Apple of monopoly practices in the United States. Tile argued that the new iOS 13 location permissions designed to give better control of your privacy the user was abusive. A user regularly had to confirm a permanent permission instead of just one, increasing the risk that apps like his would not receive it. Finally, Apple agreed to release a version of the software that prevented regular permissions from being requested in apps that persistently use location.
Some time later, Apple opened up to third parties the use of its U1 chip, the same one that is responsible for more precise location inside and present since the iPhone 11. With the arrival of this feature in iOS 14, Tile ended up announcing last January its intention to create a location beacon with a UWB chip. The same technology as that used in the U1.
The truth is, this technology seems like a ring on the finger of AirTag, the Apple locator that refuses to reveal itself. Even if we have been waiting for a few years, rumors return to place it as imminent in its release. Of course, this mythological prop and its continued (rumored) delays caused many of us not to believe it until we saw it with our own eyes.
It is expected that with the release of iOS 14.5, the items tab will be enabled in the search app. It’s there that other accessories would be shown like Belkin’s aforementioned Tile (if he decides to integrate it that way), headphones like the PowerBeats Pro, and hopefully the AirTag.