After more than ten years of enabling the location of lost Apple devices, the Find My app is now being updated to enable the location of third-party products starting next week, with Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof as the first partners to join the Find My network’s accessory program.
Through these partners, the initial group of compatible products consists of the VanMoof S3 and X3 e-bike models, the Chipolo ONE Spot item finder, and Belkin’s SOUNDFORM Freedom True wireless headphones.
According to Apple’s statement: “These products will allow users to locate where they left their vehicle, their headphones at the gym, their backpack, and more. Other third-party device manufacturers will soon offer to Find My-enabled products and accessories.”
In this regard, with the update now rolled out, Find My also incorporates a new tab called “Items,” where users will be able to enter approved products, which will also feature the “Works with Apple Find My” badge, allowing them to be located and tracked at all times.
Apple notes that third-party products must comply with all privacy protections of the Find My network on which customers of the company’s products rely so much.
Also, Apple is also announcing that it already has a draft chipset manufacturer specification for release later this spring, allowing third-party manufacturers to leverage existing ultra-wideband (UWB) technology in Apple devices that integrate the U1 chip to create new proximity-based experiences.
Thanks to the opening of third-party products, in case a compatible product has been lost, users will be able to activate the Lost mode for it, being able to create a message with the contact number to be alerted by others in case it is found, receiving a notification the moment it has been located through the Find My network.
Apple reminds that: “The Find My network is a collective collaborative network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices that use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect nearby missing devices or items and report their approximate location to the owner.”
