As others have said, there are widely available GPS trackers with cellular connections. There are, of course, also all the ways people did such things pre-GPS. i.e. just finding out where a person lives which is mostly pretty easy.
The GPS locators are heavier with shorter battery life. This has been my experience from GPS pet trackers. Since Bluetooth Low Energy does not require as much energy or range, the form factor is greatly decreased.
You might realize this, but just for clarity, Bluetooth LE has similar range to Classic Bluetooth, with the exception of 125kbps LE long range coded PHY, introduced with BT5.0. You can potentially reach from 1km away outdoors.
The Nordic Semiconductor NRF52832 used in the airtag, unlike NRF52840, does not support this.
Apple seems to have removed support for long range coded PHY from iOS as well, so other vendors can't make use of coded PHY either. It was present in iOS 13, seems to be absent from iOS 14.
yes but if you just want to find where someone leves or goes, you don't need a device following them for a year. Ar day or two is enough, and GPS trackers give you that and a much greater accuracy.