AirTag packaging confirms it was ready as far back as 2019
What you need to know
- Apple’s AirTag item track is now shipping and packaging shows dates as far back as 2019.
- AirTag was rumored to be launching alongside the 2019 iPhone 11 but never did.
Turns out all those leaks were right.
People are starting to receive their AirTag item trackers today and those paying close attention to the packaging will already have noticed one thing – it includes the date 2020.
Normally that wouldn’t mean a lot, but in this instance, it shows that Apple was ready to ship the AirTag trackers as far back as last year. But when last year? Well, that’s a good question.
It’s a good question because those who picked up a leather holder for their new item tracker will also notice that its packaging proudly displays 2019 on it. Could it be possible that AirTags were supposed to ship 18 months or so ago?
So, the AirTag box says 2020.
The Leather Keyring says 2019.
First AirTag leak was back in 2019.
They’ve been ready for the past 2 years. pic.twitter.com/TgrAw3z4C6
— Daniel (@ZONEofTECH) April 30, 2021
Well, yes. I was writing about ‘Apple Tags‘ back in September 2019 and we’ve been expecting something to ship ever since. In fact, I’m fairly sure we were hearing about AirTags even before that – but my Google Fu is letting me down!
Why Apple took so long to get these things to market isn’t clear, but I suspect it’s the fact it needs iPhones with the U1 chip in the wild for them to work properly. That means iPhone 11 onwards – and it’s taken until April 2021 for Apple to be confident that there are enough U1 chips in the wild for AirTags to work.
Regardless, our great international AirTag nightmare is over and these things are shipping. Now we just need AirPower to launch with 2018 written all over it!
AirTags are already looking to be pretty popular and they’re a cert to be one of the best Bluetooth trackers you can buy.
