Where are Android’s AirTags? Blame Apple for the delay

At Google I/O 2023, Google introduced a major improve to Android’s Discover My System community. Android gadgets would quickly be capable of find close by Android gadgets through Bluetooth proximity, and the community would even be opened as much as third-party Bluetooth trackers (aka Android’s AirTag equivalents). The end result could be that Android’s Discover My System community would turn out to be as highly effective as Apple’s Discover My community, and inarguably much more as a consequence of Android’s world reputation.

However the announcement was made near a 12 months in the past, and we’re clearly not there but. If you happen to’re questioning the place to pin the blame for the delay, we’ve one clear reply: Apple.

Google shared an replace in July 2023 that the Discover My System community launch was delayed till “Apple has applied protections for iOS.” Extra particularly, Google was working in partnership with Apple to assist finalize the joint undesirable tracker alert specification “by the top of this 12 months.”

This primarily was in reference to the risk Apple customers would face if any of the then-upcoming Android-compatible Bluetooth trackers had been used for nefarious stalking functions. iPhone customers would haven’t any strategy to determine these trackers that aren’t a part of Apple’s Discover My community (until they spot the tracker bodily), so it made sense that each Google and Apple acted responsibly.

Nevertheless, the timeline has passed by, and Android’s Discover My System community improve remains to be nowhere to be discovered. What’s the maintain up now? Unsurprisingly, the reply remains to be the identical: Apple.

A report from AndroidPolice sheds extra mild on the state of affairs. The specification that Google and Apple are engaged on known as “Detecting Undesirable Location Trackers,” which is present process a prolonged and intensive course of to turn out to be an Web normal. Apple’s implementation of undesirable tracker alerts could be based mostly on this specification, nevertheless it wasn’t clear if Apple was ready for the specification to turn out to be an Web normal. Such a transfer would take many extra months, and it wouldn’t be earlier than July 2025 that no less than a requirements doc could be submitted, and Apple might transfer ahead.

The report notes that Google has clarified that what Apple was really ready for was “a manufacturing implementation of the specification for undesirable monitoring alerts” as a substitute of an precise finalized model of the specification. This manufacturing implementation was printed in December 2023, and the “integration model” of the usual is accessible. Apple has had what it must implement undesirable tracker alerts on iOS for a number of months, nevertheless it hasn’t but carried out so.

When Apple will implement undesirable tracker alerts is unknown. We’ve contacted the corporate for extra info and can replace this text once we hear again.

If we’re allowed to take a guess, there’s a good probability that this spec will get applied in iOS 18, which is first anticipated to be introduced at WWDC 2024 (presumptively in June 2024) after which rolled out within the steady department when the iPhone 16 will get introduced, presumptively in September 2024.

Apple’s delay is holding up the rollout of Android’s Discover My System function. If Google did go forward and improve the community earlier than Apple applied undesirable tracker alerts, then Apple customers could be those at grave privateness and safety dangers. Sadly, Google’s accountable delay is hurting Android customers as they need to spend extra time with out such an important function. So, the following time you lose your Android cellphone, you possibly can blame Apple for being unable to seek out it.