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First AirTag orders arrive two days early

Though AirTag is not due to arrive in customer hands until Friday, some lucky buyers are beginning to receive their pack of four trackers days ahead schedule.

At least two customers who purchased Apple's AirTag four-pack from Best Buy took receipt of the item on Wednesday. One person promptly unboxed the device for a few obligatory photos sent to both MacRumors and 9to5Mac.

Not all orders placed through Best Buy are arriving early, and the shipping mistake is likely the result of carriers not heeding Apple's usual delivery restrictions for launch products. The tech giant typically requires shipping companies to hold newly released products for delivery to ensure both online and in-store orders arrive on the same day.

Apple announced the long-awaited AirTag at its "Spring Loaded" special event on April 20. The $29 tracker features a speaker, Bluetooth, NFC and U1 chip for broad Find My network discovery and precision finding with compatible iPhones. One of the few Apple products to boast a user-replaceable battery, the accessory is designed to attach to bags, keychains and other commonly lost items, where it can serve as a homing beacon for up to a year.

Preorders for the device kicked off last Friday, with initial stock quickly selling out. Current orders see ship times pushed back into May, while engraving adds another month to the process.

AirTag

Apple AirTag (Single)
  • $25.99
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$3.01
Apple AirTag (4-Pack)
  • $79.99
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$19.01



17 Comments

bageljoey 18 Years · 1997 comments

My 4 pack (engraved) is scheduled to arrive May 12-17 but it already moved from processing to preparing to ship. 

Checking my order status is a rewarding hobby of mine…

dewme 10 Years · 5775 comments

It would have been a major technical coup and piece of showmanship had Apple been able to activate the tags prior to shipping so customers could track their tags in transit. 

nicholfd 6 Years · 828 comments

dewme said:
It would have been a major technical coup and piece of showmanship had Apple been able to activate the tags prior to shipping so customers could track their tags in transit. 

Activate & pair them to what?  They don't know what device you have or want to use them with.  What if they are a gift?  

Think it through...

bageljoey 18 Years · 1997 comments

nicholfd said:
dewme said:
It would have been a major technical coup and piece of showmanship had Apple been able to activate the tags prior to shipping so customers could track their tags in transit. 
Activate & pair them to what?  They don't know what device you have or want to use them with.  What if they are a gift?  

Think it through...

I don’t think it would have been IMPOSSIBLE.  Apple could have sent a link that could initiate a demo paring mode.  It would have to be limited to avoid annoying chirps in transit and such.  


I imagine it would have been a lot of work and it would probably introduce all sorts of extra security vulnerabilities, so I’m not saying it would have been worth it, but I agree it would have been cool…

ntipping 3 Years · 5 comments

Looking forward to the Air Tag! Will be helpful as I'm a very forgetful person lol. 

Good news on the orders being early, cannot wait to order mine on pay day!