> I guarantee I can find a cheaper device that does not need to use apples network and is as easy to use; it's even more perfect for stalking because there's no information on the owner and no risk that the tag notifies the person nearby.
You missed the point about why Apple's network is a big deal.
I have a few Tile brand trackers, they're functionally the same basic thing as an Airtag and have been around for years. Most places that sell electronics stock them.
The trick is that if you lose something or have something stolen, it can only be detected if it comes near another Tile user who has the app installed and has given it appropriate permissions on their device to be able to scan. This obviously doesn't matter if you're just trying to find a set of keys around the house, but if your bike is stolen unless you're in a major city you're probably SOL. 10 times as many people have installed Apple Music on an Android device as have the Tile app, so that's not much.
Apple's massive advantage is that every single iPhone, iPad, etc. is by default a receiver for their tracking network. That same stolen bike is now trackable by something like half of all the smartphones in the world. If it's in a place where there are meaningful amounts of people it's going to show up on the tracking network.
Basically Apple's tracking network is the first time a low power solution like this has truly had critical mass.
> Apples devices are low power and do not have GPS trackers in them; it's pretty trivial to have a higher powered device with a GPS tracker in it.
GPS takes a hilarious amount of battery power and requires a significantly larger antenna. Beyond that you then also need a cellular service plan and the device has to remain in range of those towers. The device you linked has battery life of less than a week in an active tracking mode and in "battery save" mode can only provide a few updates a day. It'd be fine for a full size vehicle or piece of industrial equipment, but not a bike or a laptop bag.