The CDC says that fully vaccinated people can “[v]isit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.” But how does a venue know whether people coming indoors are fully vaccinated? About a month ago, I linked to an article by Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post in which he describes vaccine passport apps from states such as New York. I live in New Orleans, and this week, Louisiana became the latest state to provide digital proof of COVID-19 vaccination on an iPhone so that you can prove vaccination to any establishment asking for that verification. It is part of the LA Wallet app, which I reviewed back in 2018, an app that you can use as a substitute for your physical driver’s license. That app is especially useful if you forgot to pick up your wallet before you jumped in the car; as long as your iPhone is with you, you still have your driver’s license. You can now use that same app to verify through the State of Louisiana Department of Health that you have been vaccinated. Using the app, you can show others, in a verified way, the date that you were vaccinated. (For two-dose vaccination, it lists the date of the second dose.) Time will tell when and where proof of vaccination will be necessary, and I realize that some states, such as Florida this week, are going the opposite direction, banning bars, businesses, schools, and government entities from asking anyone to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination — at the same time that Florida is enacting other laws that leave me, and other fans of democracy, rolling our eyes. But for those folks who desire to prove that they are vaccinated, and for those establishments that want to take advantage of that to provide a safer environment for patrons, Louisiana and other states now have a mechanism in place. And now, the other news of note from the past week:
In the latest episode of the Mac Power Users podcast, California attorney David Sparks and his co-host Stephen Hackett discuss apps that you can use to be productive with an iPhone. It’s a great episode full of lots of tips. As they noted in the podcast, because of the small screen of the iPhone, it is often not the platform of choice for most tasks (although there are a few where it excels). But when you are away from your computer and iPad, the iPhone is so powerful that you can get lots of serious work done with the right app, sometimes with the aid of an external keyboard.
This week, the trial between Apple and Epic regarding the removal of Fortnite from the App Store began before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California. Illinois attorney John Voorhees of MacStories wrote this overview of the issues in the trial before the trial began.
Unlike Tile and other manufacturers of tracking devices, Apple has emphasized privacy as a part of its development the AirTag and thus has many methods in place to discourage the improper use of an AirTag to track another person. Nevertheless, Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post reports that there are still ways that an AirTag can be used to track another person without their consent, at least for a period of time. Apple has the ability to update the AirTag, so I would not be surprised to seek Apple update AirTag settings over time as it improves its privacy protections.
This week, Apple issued an important security update for the iPhone (iOS 14.5.1) and other platforms. It fixes a flaw in Webkit, used by Safari and other apps, and Apple is aware of a report that the flaw had already been exploited by someone. If you haven’t updated your devices yet, do so now. Roman Loyola of Macworld has more details on the update.
Juli Clover of MacRumors reviews the Brydge 12.9 MAX+, a cheaper alternative to Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPad.
James Titcomb of The Register reports that Apple could be working with a UK company to develop a way for the Apple Watch to monitor blood sugar and alcohol.
Amber Neely of Apple Insider reports that a woman recently gave birth to a baby on an airplane. Fortunately, there was a doctor on board to help the premature newborn. And fortunately, there was an Apple Watch on board because the doctor used it to keep tabs on the baby’s heart rate.
And finally, a person on YouTube who calls himself AirTagAlex mailed an AirTag to himself in the Netherlands to see how the device would track the journey through the mail system, and created this interesting video:
This past Friday, Apple started selling its latest new product, the AirTag. An AirTag is the size of a small button, 1.26 inches in diameter. And like a button, it weighs virtually nothing, less than half an ounce (0.39 ounce). Place an AirTag in an object like a briefcase or a purse, and the AirTag can help you to locate that item if you lose it. A single AirTag costs $29, or you can purchase a four-pack for $100. I’ve been trying out four AirTags for the last few days, and I’m very impressed with how well this system works.
This post addresses four aspects of the AirTag. First, how to store it with an item. Second, how to find if it again if it is far away from you. Third, how to find its precise location once you are close to it. And fourth, how to use Lost Mode if you cannot find an AirTag.
Where to put an AirTag
An AirTag is a little larger than a quarter, about the size of a half-dollar coin. It is almost as thick as an iPhone in the middle, but it seems much thinner because of the curved side and the fact that it weighs almost nothing. It feels like a button on a jacket.
The point of an AirTag is to have it attached to, or somehow part of, an item that you might lose. For something that has a compartment like a purse, briefcase, or backpack, you can just slip an AirTag into a compartment, and you are done. I think that an AirTag is too thick to fit into a typical wallet that goes into a back pocket, but perhaps there are some wallets out there (or in development now) that could fit an AirTag.
I suspect one of the most misplaced items for many folks is keys, so adding a AirTag to a key ring makes perfect sense. You simply need a case for the AirTag that can attach to a key ring. Apple sells a $35 leather key ring case that comes in three colors.
Instead of the Apple key ring and loop, I purchased versions sold by Belkin, which only cost $12.95. Both come with the same holder, two pieces of plastic (black, blue, or pink) in which you place an Air Tag in one half, place the other half on, and then twist the two parts to lock. The Belkin key ring product comes with a key ring to connect to the holder. The Belkin strap simply fits through the loop at the top of the holder and doubles around itself.
Creative folks are coming up with many other ways to attach an AirTag to an item. For example, Moment has a Stretch Fabric Mount that uses an adhesive that attaches to any fabric. Elevation Lab makes a waterproof case for an AirTag. And I’m sure that we will soon see many more products that work with an AirTag.
For those who don’t mind paying top-dollar for a luxury item, Apple has long had a partnership with Hermès, and that partnership continues to the AirTag. For example, Apple itself sells a $349 Hermès Key Ring and a $449 Hermès luggage tag. And if you buy directly from Hermès, you can get a $699 travel tag:
A luggage tag that costs more than the luggage itself is certainly extravagant, but the point is that you can find a wide variety of products to connect an AirTag to an item.
Once you figure out how you are going to associate an AirTag with an item, put an AirTag close to your iPhone and you will be given the option to claim the AirTag as yours and give the AirTag a name and an icon. Once an AirTag is affiliated with your Apple account, another person cannot pick it up and start using it with their account.
Note that the AirTag contains a standard CR2032 battery. Apple says that the battery should last about a year. I see that Amazon currently sells a 6-pack of Energizer CR2032 batteries for $7.99, so they are inexpensive to replace.
How to Find an AirTag when it is not in your vicinity
Each AirTag works with the Apple Find My service, which you can tap into using the Find My app. I discussed the history and current version of that app almost a month ago in this post, and I recommend that you start with that post if you are thinking about getting an AirTag.
Each AirTag has a Bluetooth radio in it, which means that it can talk to other Bluetooth devices that are within the vicinity (typically about 30-50 feet). The AirTag sends out a number, that changes from time to time, and if another iPhone passes within Bluetooth range of that device, it will notice the AirTag number and notify Apple that a certain AirTag number was seen at a certain place and time. That way, if you use the Find My app to search for an item, you can get the location if another iPhone has passed by it. With over a billion iPhones now in active use, hopefully there is a good chance that an iPhone will pass by your AirTag.
For example, this past Saturday, I attended a championship middle school track and field meet with my daughter. (She did very well, including getting first place in one of her events!) I took the key fob for my car but left the rest of the key ring including the AirTag in my car. About four hours after I last saw my keys, I asked the Find My app to find them. It did so quickly, letting me know that another iPhone had passed by them just six minutes earlier — I presume someone else walking to their car in a parking lot who passed by my car, where my keys were in the glove compartment. The app then gave me directions for getting to my keys.
If multiple AirTags are in the same location, you will see the icons associated with the first two AirTags, and then an indication of how many more are also located there. Thus, when I was in my office in downtown New Orleans with four AirTags with me, here is what I saw:
The Find My system will not work 100% of the time. If an item with an AirTag attached is located in a remote location such that no other iPhone would ever be anywhere near it, then the AirTag won’t be found. The alternative would be to use a tracking device with GPS so that it could always be tracked, but this is more expensive and the tracking device needs to be somewhat larger. For example, T-Mobile has just introduced a GPS tracking device called the SyncUP TRACKER. You need to pay $5/month for the TRACKER service, and then you pay $60 ($2.50/month) for 24 months for each SyncUP TRACKER. (It is unclear to me if you own the device after paying $60 or if you need to continue paying $2.50 every month.) And perhaps most annoying, the SyncUP TRACKER only lasts for a few days before it needs to be recharged.
How to Find an AirTag when it is in your vicinity
What if you are reasonably close to an AirTag that you are trying to find, either because you found it on a map and then got close to it or because you know that the AirTag is somewhere close — such as in your own house — but you just don’t know exactly where it is located?
First, you can make the AirTag play a sound. (This tweet from Apple includes a short video with examples of all of the AirTag sounds.) If you can hear it, hopefully you can find it.
Second, when you are within Bluetooth range of your own AirTag, your iPhone can direct you to the precise location of the AirTag using a large arrow. This only works if you are using an iPhone with a U1 Ultra Wideband chip, such as the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max that Apple released in 2019 as well as most of the more recent iPhones.
Using one or both of these approaches, you should able to find your item with the AirTag, even if it is in a somewhat hidden location in your house or another location.
You cannot use an AirTag to find the precise location of your luggage on a luggage carousel because an AirTag needs to be in a fixed position for Ultra Wideband chip to work.
You can use an AirTag to confirm that your luggage made it to the same airport as you.
You can use an AirTag to determine the precise location of your luggage if someone has taken it off of a carousel and moved it to a specific location, which often happens after you go through customs and immigration.
Putting an AirTag inside of luggage versus using a strap and putting it outside of the luggage did not make a difference for range or tracking accuracy.
I’m sure we will see more reports like this in the coming weeks and months.
Lost Mode
If you have lost an item connected to an AirTag and cannot find it using the Find My app, you can put the AirTag in lost mode. Once in this mode, if another iPhone passes near the AirTag, you will receive a notification that the AirTag was located. You can also choose to leave a phone number and a message so that if someone else finds the AirTag, they can hold it close to an iPhone or Android device to see the message. Hopefully, this person will contact you and help you to recover your lost item.
This is the same system that Apple has used for years for a lost iPhone or iPad. There are no guarantees that someone will find it and contact you, but at least with the AirTag you have a chance of recovery.
Conclusion
Do you have an item that you don’t want to lose, and are you willing to spend $25 to guard against that? Then the AirTag may be right for you. The hope, of course, is that you will never have a need to use an AirTag. But if you ever do need it — either because an item is lost inside of your own house or is lost somewhere in the outside world — you’ll be glad that you have it.
This past weekend, I was delighted to give a short presentation as a part of a seminar with speakers from around the world hosted by two large organizations for lawyers in the Philippines: Legal Hackers Manila and Abogadong Pinoy. The title of the seminar was More Than Word: Apps and other Legal Technology Tools for the Modern Lawyer. The seminar was streamed on Facebook Live, and the recording is still available to watch. Many of the topics of this seminar would be of interest to any lawyer, no matter where in the world you practice law. For example, after I spoke about the iPhone and iPad, legal technology consultant Brett Burney of Apps in Law also gave some advice for mobile computing, and then two speakers talked about a product that uses artificial intelligence in contract negotiations.
The speakers and topics (with the approximate time-stamps if you want to jump to a particular section) are as follows:
0:00:00 — Welcome remarks by Joan de Venecia-Fabul (Manila), PLDT Deputy Chief Counsel and Vice President
0:01:55 — Results of Filipino legal technology survey of by Jeifan-Ira Dizon (Manila), Dizon + Ross
0:09:53 — Speaker introduction by Quito Nitura (Manila), ACCRALAW
0:10:27 — iPhone and iPad Tips for Lawyers by Jeff Richardson (New Orleans), Adams and Reese • iPhone J.D.
0:33:32 — Mobile Apps in a Legal Practice by Brett Burney (Ohio), Apps in Law
1:01:43 — Artificial Intelligence in Contract Negotiations by Tracy Van Heer (Melbourne) and Mike Alford (San Francisco), LexCheck
1:28:27 — Digitization and Innovation in the Legal Services Industry by Alain Charles Veloso (Manila), Quisumbing Torres – Baker McKenzie
1:59:15 — Closing Remarks by Mars Veloso (Manila), Legal Hackers Manila • Apptitude
Thanks to all of the great folks with Legal Hackers Manila and Abogadong Pinoy for the invitation!
