United enables Apple’s lost luggage recovery tool for airline flubs
Just over a month ago, Apple introduced a new feature called “Share Item Location” that would allow users to securely share the location of their lost or misplaced Find My-ready device (or luggage with AirTag attached) with their airline service provider, in order to recover it. The feature is now live, with United emerging as the first partner to adopt it. In a press release, United mentioned that the ability to share details of lost items from the Find My network had been added to its official mobile app. The feature went live following the rollout of iOS 18.2, which commenced yesterday and also introduced notable Apple Intelligence features. Air Canada has also announced the feature.
The airline service providers note the goal is to let users “seamlessly share the accessory location with the airline’s customer service team” in the event of mishandled items and move ahead with the recovery. David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer, claims that Apple’s new tool will help customers locate their lost baggage “much more quickly.”
Here’s how the recovery process kicks into action. Let’s say you find yourself in a situation where your baggage didn’t arrive at the destination. All you have to do is open the United mobile app and submit a delayed baggage report. At this stage, you can securely share the location-tracking data pulled from the Find My network.
In order to generate a tracking link, users can go to the Find My app installed on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. This link opens an interactive map view on a webpage that shows the location of the missing item, and keeps updating it when movement is detected, alongside a timestamp for location logging.
Once the item has been found and it is duly returned to the customer, the shared location details cease to update and the link itself expires within a week. For the sake of added security, the whole pipeline is end-to-end encrypted so the shared location data remains private to the customer and airline service provider only.
In the coming months, the likes of Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic will also join the list of over two dozen players that will add support for Apple’s Share Item Location feature.
For expanded rollout, Apple has also joined with global aviation technology giant, SITA (Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautique), with the goal of integrating the feature within the latter’s WorldTracer baggage tracking system. This partnership will bring the new convenience to roughly 2,800 airports serving more than 500 commercial airline players.
Nadeem is a tech journalist who started reading about cool smartphone tech out of curiosity and soon started writing…
How to wear the Apple Watch Ultra and not look like a tool
I’m accustomed to making excuses about why I am wearing a watch that performs a specific purpose really well, despite not taking advantage of said purpose. For example, I love wearing divers watches, but I can’t remember the last time my head was beneath the surface of any body of water.
It’s a situation I, and I think quite a few other people, are going to have to deal with if they decide the new Apple Watch Ultra is the smartwatch for them, particularly if the most adventurous they get is to try a Starbucks on the other side of town, just for a change. Welcome to the delicate art of wearing a tool watch without looking like a tool.
A tool watch?
Read more
U.K. launches investigation into Apple’s cloud gaming restrictions
The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is planning to launch an investigation into Apple’s restrictions on cloud gaming. The government agency announced in a press release that it is in the consultation phase of the investigation following a year-long market study into Apple, as well as its rival Google.
The study found that the tech giants had a duopoly over the mobile market that severely restricted competition by third-party developers and deprived them of incentives. In the case of Apple, it’s looking into its restrictions on cloud gaming services on the App Store after hearing complaints from U.K. developers who say that such restrictions make it difficult for them to compete in the market, not to mention deprive users who prefer accessing a wide variety of games through cloud gaming that they cannot find in the App Store.
Read more
Apple enables faster on-the-go charging with MagSafe Battery Pack
Wish you could have faster cordless charging for your iPhone than the measly 5 watts you get with Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack? Well, now you can.
Thanks to a firmware update rolled out by the tech giant this week, you’ll now get a not-quite-as-measly 7.5W, enabling a slightly faster charge time for your iPhone.
Read more
