Apple to launch a new Find My Phone app that will be able to track non-iOS devices: Report

Cupertino-based technology giant Apple is reportedly planning to merge its Find My iPhone and Find My Friends services. A report has surfaced online which suggests that going forward both of these services by Apple will be merged into one single app that will be able to track an expanded range of devices and is said to be released on iOS as well as macOS as a Marzipan-based application.

The report, which was first published in 9to5Mac, says that Apple’s new service will be able to track your devices when if they are not connected to the internet. Other than this, it will have a number of features that we have already seen on Apple’s Find My iPhone app. Users will also have an option of selecting a device and putting it into ‘lost mode’. This will make that device make a sound so that it is easier for you to locate them. It has also been mentioned that the service will let users find where their AirPods are.

However, that is still not the key highlight of the app. Among the biggest new features of the service is that it will be able to track non-Apple devices too. The company is working on a new tag codenamed ‘B389’, which users will be able to attach to a particular item in order to track it. Users will also need to pair the device with their iCloud account and on doing this, they will be notified if the item gets too far away. The location of the item will also be shared with the user’s friends.

In addition to this, with Apple’s new Find My iPhone app, users will be able to upload their contact information on to the tag and this will then be displayed on a nearby Apple device when the item goes in the ‘lost mode’.

Coming to the Find My Friends portion of the upcoming app, its functionality is very similar to the existing app by Apple. According to the report, it will let users share their location with family and friends and they can also request others to share their location with them. It will also enable users to set up notifications for when a friend leaves a certain location or visits it.

As of now, there is no word on when exactly the revamped Apple app will be released, however, we think that Apple’s annual developer conference WWDC can be the perfect event to announce the new app. It is also being speculated that in case Apple doesn’t release the app then, it will announce it with its iPhones in September.