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My grandfather had a saying — a place for everything, and everything in its place. It turns out that I’m not as tidy as he was, and I have a tendency to… misplace things. For me, Apple AirTags have been a total game-changer, and I have them attached to my keys, embedded in my bags and luggage, and even have one in my car and e-bike.
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They’re amazing bits of kit, but they do have one big drawback — they just don’t fit well into a purse or wallet. Even at only 0.31 inches (8.0 mm) they make their presence known. While you can get clips and adapters, I don’t think they work.
What’s needed is a super-thin version of the AirTag — like the LuLuLook AirCard Pro.
Designed to work with the Apple Find My network, at only 0.07-inch (1.8 mm) thick, it’s no thicker than two credit cards, so it slips into a wallet, purse, or passport holder like it’s been designed to be there. There’s a slot cut in the card to accept a luggage tag strap, perfect for keeping an eye on your stuff when traveling. The card comes with a lanyard for you to attach it to, well, whatever you want to track.
The AirCard Pro is tough enough to survive the rigors of being bent and flexed in a wallet — I don’t normally go about my life with a leather wallet in my back pocket, but I suffered for this review to make sure it was up to the job.
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The tag is also IP68 rated, which means that it’s completely dustproof and can survive immersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for half an hour, making splashes and rain no problem for it. I left mine out in the UK summer rainstorm, which subsequently turned into a sunny day in the high 80s before raining heavily again in the evening, and it survived.
There’s a lot of tech — te finder, speaker, battery, and charging coil — packed into such a small gadget.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
While regular AirTags are powered by CR2032 button cells, the AirCard Pro has a built-in rechargeable battery (yes, there’s a battery in there) that can be recharged using any Qi/MagSafe wireless charger (yes, there’s everything you need for wireless charging inside the card too!). The built-in battery lasts about four to five months between recharges, and your iPhone will give you a heads-up when it’s time to pop it on the charging pad.
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The card has a 150-foot Bluetooth detection range on the iOS Find My app, and it has a built-in speaker that’s loud enough to find the tag even if it’s buried with your luggage or your wallet is under a pile of sofa cushions.
The only feature that this — and all other third-party finder tags for the Apple platform — is missing is precision finding, the ability to get real-time distance and directional guidance to the lost item from your iPhone. Other than this, the performance is pretty much on par with that of the AirTag.
I also tested this by sending it in the mail to myself, and I had no problems following it on its journey around North Wales (it’s quite surprising just how fast mail moves once it’s collected from the post office).
ZDNET’s buying advice
At $19 per finder tag, or three for $54, this is a great way to prevent the frustration of misplacing things and a great gift for the absent-minded and easily distracted.
It’s not the perfect location tracker on the market, as the lack of precision finding can be a shortcoming for some users, but it’s hard to nitpick at its sub-$20 price.
