apple patient
  • Home
  • News
  • Rumors
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Tests & Experience Reports
  • Generally
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Rumors
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Tests & Experience Reports
  • Generally
No Result
View All Result
apple patient
No Result
View All Result
Brisant

AirTags: Tile sues Apple before product release

The background to this action is antitrust concerns

by Milan
January 17, 2020
in News
Image: Tile

Image: Tile

It's that time again. Apple is once again accused of anti-competitive business practices. The tricky part is that the AirTags haven't even been officially introduced yet. 

What are AirTags? Who or what is Tile? Here is a brief explanation: Tile is a small Bluetooth tracker that is attached to handbags, jackets, wallets or other items to find them if lost. Apple AirTags are basically the same - only much better. They have more features and are of course better integrated into Apple's ecosystem. However, the product has not yet been officially presented; the information available so far and how it works has been revealed by some leaks from earlier iOS 13 versions. You can find a link to the article "AirTags - What we know about Apple's new product" at the end of this article. Now to the actual thing.

No access to Apple's hardware

Tile is of course already concerned about the future of its own product and is now trying to fight against Apple's AirTags through the US Congress. The accusation: anti-competitive business practices because Tile does not have access to Apple's hardware. Accordingly, the manufacturer is basing its claim on previous leaks and is demanding access to Apple's hardware in order to be able to integrate its own product into Apple's ecosystem as best as possible in order to remain competitive. 

The accusation is not new

Over the past year, concerns about anti-competitive business practices by Apple have increased significantly. 9to5mac author Ben Lovejoy:

In addition to the congressional hearings, the Justice Department has launched its own investigation. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating the legality of a deal between Apple and Amazon; a number of US states are conducting extensive antitrust investigations of their own; there are a number of cases in other countries and a number of lawsuits.

Ben Lovejoy, 9to5mac

Tile's testimony before Congress

The Verge journalist Nilay Patel was present at the hearing in Congress and was able to publish some passages of Tile's statement via Twitter. According to the tracking manufacturer, Apple would prevent other companies from making the same software integrations as Apple itself. This would degrade the overall user experience. The current iPhone generation was used as an example. Tile products are not allowed to access the UWB interface of the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max - a feature that the AirTags will receive. But that's not all. Tile recalls the first AirTag leak by 9to5mac editor Guilhermo Rambo and its consequences. Shortly after the leak became public, Apple is said to have removed Tile's products from its own stores. 

Apple comments on the allegations

But Apple has already commented on the latest accusation. The statement was delivered directly to Kif Leswing of CNBC. It says:

Apple designs its hardware, software, and system-level applications to protect user privacy and provide the best products and ecosystem in the world. Apple has not built a business model around knowing a customer's location or the location of their device. 

When setting up a new device, users can enable Location Services to locate a lost or misplaced device using Find My iPhone, an app that users have relied on since 2010. Customers are in control of their location data, including the location of their device. If a user does not want to enable these features, there is a clear, easy-to-understand setting where they can choose exactly which location services they want to enable or disable. 

When it comes to third-party apps, we designed the App Store with two goals in mind: to be a safe and trusted place for customers to discover and download apps, and a great business opportunity for developers. We continually work with developers and take their feedback to protect user privacy while providing the tools developers need to create the best app experiences. 

We are currently working with developers interested in enabling Always Allow functionality to enable this feature at the time of deployment in a future software update.

Apple

Whether Tile will ultimately achieve anything and be successful with this step remains to be seen. One thing is clear - although the case is already dividing the Apple world, the reaction to a previously unreleased Apple product is still exciting. (Image: Tile)

  • Apple acquires rights to “AirTag” trademark
  • AirTags – What we know about Apple’s new product
Add Apfelpatient to your Google News Feed. 
Was this article helpful?
YesNo
Tags: AirTagsiOSiPhone
Previous Post

“Kings of the Castle” launched on Apple Arcade

Next Post

Apple expands in Munich – 30,000 square meters rented

Next Post
Oktoberfest background with beer stein, beer tap, pretzel, wheat and hops on a barrel

Apple expands in Munich - 30,000 square meters rented

iPhone 17 Air Case Apple

iPhone Air rumors: Apple to use new display technology in 2027

June 18, 2025
iOS 26 Screenshots

iOS 26 brings new screenshot features to the iPhone

June 18, 2025
iOS 26 lock screen

iOS 26: Five new lock screen features at a glance

June 17, 2025

About APFELPATIENT

Welcome to your ultimate source for everything Apple - from the latest hardware like iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, AirTags, HomePods, AirPods to the groundbreaking Apple Vision Pro and high-quality accessories. Dive deep into the world of Apple software with the latest updates and features for iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, macOS and visionOS. In addition to comprehensive tips and tricks, we offer you the hottest rumors, the latest news and much more to keep you up to date. Selected gaming topics also find their place with us, always with a focus on how they enrich the Apple experience. Your interest in Apple and related technology is served here with plenty of expert knowledge and passion.

Legal

  • Imprint – About APFEPATIENT
  • Cookie Settings
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

service

  • Partner Program
  • Netiquette – About APPLEPATIENT

RSS Feed

Follow Apfelpatient:
Facebook Instagram YouTube threads
Apfelpatient Logo

© 2025 Apfelpatient. All rights reserved. | Sitemap

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Rumors
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Tests & Experience Reports
  • Generally

© 2025 Apfelpatient. All rights reserved. | Page Directory