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The worst part of a lost bag is not knowing. Did it miss the connection, or is it circling a carousel two cities away? An Apple AirTag answers that from your phone before the airline will. Drop one in each checked bag and you can watch it move through the airport. The four-pack covers a family. The catch is simple: this is an Apple-only device, and if your household is on Android it is not for you.

What it is, in plain terms

A coin-sized Bluetooth tracker that pairs with your iPhone in one tap and shows up in the Find My app. It locates itself using Apple’s Find My network, which quietly borrows the location of hundreds of millions of Apple devices around the world, so it works far beyond Bluetooth range. On newer iPhones, Precision Finding uses Ultra Wideband to walk you right to it. It has a built-in speaker, a Lost Mode, a replaceable battery that lasts about a year, and an IP67 water and dust resistant body. It needs an Apple ID and an iPhone or iPad on iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later.

Why it works for travel

Put one in each checked bag and the guesswork disappears. You see your bag land, or you see it did not, often before you reach the carousel. The Find My network is the real advantage here, because it is so large that your tag reports in from almost anywhere a person with an iPhone walks past. The four-pack means every bag in the family is covered, and the year-long battery is one you can swap yourself instead of tossing the tag.

Who the Apple AirTag is for

If you carry an iPhone and check bags, this is one of the easiest travel buys there is. If your household is on Android, skip it and look at a Tile or a Samsung SmartTag instead, because the AirTag needs Apple’s network to do its job.