With the watchOS public beta release, an Apple Watch Series 6 can finally find AirTags, but doesn’t use the precision finding ability of its U1 chip.
The public beta release of watchOS 8 finally allows an Apple Watch to find an AirTag. This feature was expected to be standard with the release of Apple’s location beacons but apparently wasn’t quite ready in April when the AirTag launched. Of course, most Apple Watch wearers can use the paired iPhone to locate items that contain or have an AirTag attached, but it is much more convenient to use an ever-present wearable instead of an iPhone.
The AirTag is an advanced tracking tag that can be located with greater precision than most beacons on the market since it has ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. This means devices that contain Apple’s U1 chip can use Precision Finding which provides both a range and heading, making it easy to move directly toward the missing item. Apple’s U1 chip first appeared in the iPhone 11 in 2019, with the only use being to sort the list of AirDrop recipients by those closest. Many suspected there was a hidden purpose and, of course, the 2021 launch of the AirTag revealed Apple’s long-term strategy. The iPhone 12, HomePod mini, and Apple Watch Series 6 also have the U1 chip that enables UWB capabilities.
With watchOS 8, an AirTag can now be located with an Apple Watch. The current version of watchOS is 7.6 so this capability will only be accessible to those eager enough to install the public beta release of watchOS 8, which might have bugs or glitches that interfere with normal operation. If the beta update is installed, the app list will include two new apps designed to help locate lost things. The Find Devices app identifies the location of Apple devices that are signed in with the same Apple ID, such as an iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer. The Find Items app helps with locating items tagged with an AirTag and also items that are compatible with Apple’s Find My network, such as some electric bikes, earbuds, and third-party trackers.
Finding An AirTag With Apple Watch
With the watchOS 8 public beta release installed, an Apple Watch can now find an AirTag. It’s quite simple to start finding, but might be a bit harder to complete the process, since Apple hasn’t made use of the UWB capability of the Apple Watch Series 6, yet. On an iPhone 11 or 12, the Find My app allows Precision Finding, showing an arrow on-screen that points in the direction of the missing item and giving a range in feet and refines that to as close as 0.1 inches when approaching the AirTag. Since this is a beta version, this might change with the general release, which is still a few months away. For now, the Apple Watch Series 6 behaves just like the Apple Watch Series 3 through 5 and Apple Watch SE when finding items.
To try this out, pressing the Digital Crown will show the app list and the Find Items app can be opened with a tap. The icon to look for is a filled green circle that encloses 4 white circles, likely representing four AirTag beacons. With the app open, all AirTag beacons and Find My compatible items will be shown in a list. Scroll by swiping a finger or turning the Digital Crown to see a particular item, then tap it to see the approximate location on a map view. If the location is distant, tap ‘Directions‘ to get turn-by-turn guidance to the area where the AirTag is located. If it’s close enough, tap ‘Play Sound‘ to make the AirTag or other item sound an alert to help locate it. While this isn’t the ideal implementation for Series 6 users, at least it is possible to locate an AirTag with an Apple Watch for anyone that has the public beta of watchOS 8 installed.
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Source: 33standard
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