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Trackers have existed for a while, but the privacy preserving ad-hoc device network approach is definitely an innovation.

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Is it though? Tile seems to do the exact same thing according to https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/how-it-works (see "Notify When Found")

I don't have one so I can't conclusively say either way, but it seems like the only "innovation" Apple can probably claim over Tile is that every iPhone should support the network out of the box (I assume) rather than having to rely only on people who already have the app.

The fact that it works with any iPhone /is/ the innovation. I would imagine less than 0,5% of iPhone users has the Tile app installed. A worldwide network of connected iPhones will make this technology finally worth using.

Tile charges for that feature, and harasses you in app until you pay the sub. Tiles only works with phones, any apple device supporting the “find my” protocol can report the position of a tag.

Integration into the Apple ecosystem is another huge one that Tile refused.

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