Mike Peterson
Electric bike manufacturer VanMoof announced that its new S3 and E3 models will be compatible with Apple's Find My app for location tracking.
VanMoof's new e-bikes are among the first third-party devices compatible with Apple's Find My network, which the company opened up to non-Apple devices on Wednesday.
Starting Wednesday, VanMoof said that all new S3 and E3 bikes ordered will be compatible with Apple's Find My network. That will allow users to track their bikes in the Find My "Items" tab on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
The Find My support also includes offline tracking, which leverages Apple's network of millions of devices to relay the location of a lost or missing item to its users. The feature protects a user's privacy and security through built-in encryption.
In addition to the ability to play a sound on a VanMoof bike, users can also place a missing bicycle in Lost Mode. If another person finds it, they'll be able to identify the owner and contact them directly to return it.
Along with VanMoon, Chipolo and Belkin are also among the first third-party manufacturers to offer Find My integration. Chipolo on Wednesday unveiled a new item tracker that works with Find My, and Belkin's Soundform True Wireless Earbuds will also feature support for Apple location tracking.
The VanMoof Find My compatibility requires iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, and macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later. They're currently available to order and start at $1,998.
Amber Neely
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
4 Comments
Great bike! Would be great if this combination not only does „find my“ but also „alert me“ if someone moves my bike
Great idea but the location of the chip in any device needs to be in a place where it is not easy to remove and in doing so would render the bike or device useless otherwise people will just break it off and theft will resume. The question then of course is what if you sell the device how to you protect your privacy, more so as the buyer.
They don't just have this new "find-me" service, but for a few years already offer an extra (paid) option where they'll send out 'bike hunters' to find your bike when reported 'stolen'. If unsuccessfull they'll replace your bike. Just search on youtube 'bike hunters' - some great stories.