You’re probably wondering – is my iPhone compatible with Apple AirTag, or said another way, what iPhones and Apple Watches are AirTags compatible? As part of our continuing AirTags FAQ series, today we look at which iPhones are compatible with Apple’s new AirTag Trackers.
The key to this question is… Which Apple iPhones and Apple Watches have the Apple U1 Ultra-Wideband location chip? This is also what determines the size of the AirTags compatible network. AirTags work with (and are findable by) all iOS devices that use the Find My app – which is currently nearly a billion devices, spread all over the world. But to find the coolest AirTag features, the precision-location (indoor GPS with augmented reality) powered by U1 chip, you need one of the following iPhones:
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple first included the U1 ultra-wideband chip, which is essential for AirTags compatibility, in its iPhone 11. According to Omdia, Apple sold over 52 million iPhones 11s in the first half of 2020. The iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini all include the U1 chip and are therefore all compatible with AirTags… and Apple is expected to sell approximately 80 million iPhone 12s in 2020 (according to DigiTimes). So that’s approximately 130 million AirTags-compatible iPhones in the world by New Years, right there.
So is your iPhone compatible with AirTags? Yes, if you have an iPhone 11 or newer (i.e., an iPhone 11 or iPhone 12), your iPhone is AirTags-compatible.
What other devices are AirTags compatible?
Apple has now included its U1 ultra-wideband location chip in the Apple Watch for the first time, starting with its September 2020 release of the Apple Watch Series 6. So, every Apple Watch Series 6 and newer (but not the Apple Watch SE) has the potential to be AirTag compatible as well. We will have to see if and when Apple enables this functionality – so watch our AirTag Rumors carefully.
Apple doesn’t release unit-sales info for the Apple Watch, but they were estimated to sell 30 million units 2019 alone… So let’s assume another 20 million are sold this coming holiday season… That bring us to approximately 150 million to 200 million AirTags-compatible devices out in the world by the start of 2021.
Why does this matter? The more people out in the world who are walking around with AirTags compatible devices (iPhones and Apple Watches that have the U1 ultra-wideband chip), the faster you’ll be able to find your missing item!
In Q3’2020, IDC estimated that Apple had approximately 12% marketshare in worldwide smartphone shipments… That’s roughly one in eight smartphones sold. Extrapolate that out, and as more people start using the newer iPhones (iPhone 11 or 12), you’ll need only 8 or so people to walk within 300 feet of your lost AirTags-equipped device for you to be able to find it. Can’t remember whether you left your precious whatever with AirTags installed on it in a cab or at a restaurant? You only need 8 people to walk by for you to to be able to find your missing object using in Apple’s Find My app! That’ll be pretty quick.
