[linooma_]

>> No need to buy Apple

> you're definitely not seeing genuine AirTags 5 for $13

I didn't see anything in the comment which suggested they were. It is specifically points out there are devices not produced by Apple. Third parties can create compatible devices:

https://developer.apple.com/find-my/

[sgtnoodle]

The off-brand ones lack a sufficiently large network to be used for tracking. They're only good for finding stuff in range of your own phone.

[imp0cat]

What do you mean? They can use the same network of Apple devices.

[sgtnoodle]

How? Airtags only work because Apple uses any iPhone with BLE support as a detector, whether or not an app is installed. An off-brand BLE beacon would require an app to work at all, and I highly doubt Apple would make it easy for a third party app to run all the time in the background.

[mrb]

According to https://developer.apple.com/find-my/ manufacturers of third party hardware CAN leverage the iPhone BLE network to connect to the FindMy network.

[sgtnoodle]

That's pretty neat. I wonder, is the user experience any worse than using airtags? Or is it functionally the same?

[matthewdgreen]

The advantage of AirTags is the large phone tracking network: every recent iPhone defaults to tracking them. That's hundreds of millions of devices globally, with probably even more density in the US. The main competitors (Tile and Samsung) have much smaller networks. I'm not sure what network you'd get with generic "Bluetooth Tracker" tags: technically it could be Apple but I can't find any evidence for such products online.

[devmor]

I am convinced you are not reading the things you reply to.

That person specifically noted and gave you a reference to how those 3rd party tags use Apple's own network.

[matthewdgreen]

> That person specifically noted and gave you a reference to how those 3rd party tags use Apple's own network.

What is the clear reference? One person said they searched GPS tracker tags on Amazon and the other gave a link to Apple’s licensing program which in turn links to NDAs and contractual agreements as well a multi-step design and approval process. There seem to be some knock-offs claiming they work with Find My, but there’s all sorts of weird counterfeit crap on Amazon. Do you have links to a product that’s actually licensed/supported by Apple (ie works and will keep working), because that’s what surprised me.

[MVorlm]

https://chipolo.net/en-us/products/category/chipolo-spot

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HQF72ZM/A/chipolo-card-sp...

I own one, and it works just like an airtag and appears in the find my app. It doesn't have precision feature but everything else works(like using the apple/iphone network to find it)

[dotancohen]

Is a Apple device required to actually find the tag? Is there an Android app?