Reports by 9to5Mac, claim that Apple is planning to merge its Find my iPhone service, with its Find my Friends service, making them both into a single app.
The ‘new’ service will have the ability to track an expanded range of devices, thanks to a new hardware product that is expected to compete with the likes of Tile (which is a tiny Bluetooth trackerand easy-to-use app that locates everyday items-like your phone, keys, and wallet-in seconds) and will reportedly be released on both iOS and macOS as a Marzipan based application.
The new service will reportedly be able to track its users’ devices even when they are not connected to the internet via either cellular data or Wi-Fi, and will also have many of the current features of the Find my iPhone app.
Users will also be able to put devices into “lost mode” which will enable them make a sound that way, finding them, will be much more easier.
The new service will also continue to allow you to find your Airpods.
One of the bigger new features for the new application however, is its ability to also track non-Apple devices. To this effect, Apple is reportedly developing a new tag, codenamed “B389,” through which users will be able to attach to an item or items they want to track. Once paired with their iCloud accounts, users can then set their devices to notify them if the item gets too far away or share its location with friends.
Users’ contact details, can also be uploaded to the tag, which will then be displayed on any nearby Apple device when the item is in “lost mode.”
The Find my Friends portion of the new app still bears a striking similarity to Apple’s current app, as it will have a very similar functionality.
The app will also let users share their location with your family and friends, and you can request for your friends to share their locations with you. The app will also allow you to set up notifications for when a friend visits or leaves a certain location.
Where there has officially been no word yet on when the revamped app will be launched, Apple’s software focused Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) which takes place this June 2019, could essentially provide a suitable venue for an announcement.
9to5Machowever, speculates that the new app could be announced alongside Apple’s 2019 iPhones in September.
‘Marzipan’ is the code name for Apple’s project where it aims to allow developer port their iOS applications, over to MacOS. It was announced last year, at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
The tech giant, had already started the process by bringing over the iOS versions of the Home, Stocks, News, and Voice Memo apps to macOS 10.14 Mojave, as at 2018.
