Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Learn more.
iOS 18.2 to make AirTags the must-have travel accessory
In This Article
If you’re an iPhone user not throwing an AirTag tracker in your checked luggage, you’re doing travel wrong. And, in iOS 18.2, the ability to track down your misplaced suitcase is set to further improve.
The iOS 18.2 Beta 2 arrived today with a new feature within the Find My app, enabling you to share the tracker information with the airline that was supposed to be a trustworthy custodian.
Get an Ace deal on these Sonos headphones
The Sonos Ace headphones are £116.90 off thanks to the Hughes Electrical eBay store, but make sure to use the code CRISP10 at checkout
The new “Share Item Location” tool will make it easier to “get help finding a lost item by sharing its location with an airline or trusted person. They will be able to see the location of your item, for a limited time,” Apple explains to users enabling the feature.
That limited time ends when the AirTag is reunited with the owner,MacRumorsreports, or when a pre-set sharing date expires. AirTag owners will also have the option to allow others to get in touch via the phone number or email address the AirTag is registered to.
In practice, this might be a good way to safeguard your luggage which, more often than not, will have been loaded onto the wrong plane and hence appeared on the wrong baggage carousel in the wrong city or country.
The ability to share with an airline employee (either through Find My app on an iPhone or via a weblink) could enable airline employees to instruct a colleague in another airport to physically go and secure the bag.
The new feature, likely to become available within the main iOS 18.2 release scheduled for early next month, builds on the existing capabilities to share with a trusted contact.
Sometimes you can’t put a price on peace of mind, and the £29 Apple charges for an AirTag to plop in your luggage and forget about has always been a no brainer. However, it’s one thing to know where your case is, it’s another thing to have it secured and returned to you. The extension of this feature in iOS 18.2 will empower the people who can provide tangible help to actually do so. In an ideal world the representative you speak with either in person, or on the phone, should be able to set the wheels in motion to put safe hands on your case.
ByChris Smith
Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
