Commercial Air Tags for Tracking 

What are Apple Air Tags? 

Apple Air Tags are small, cheap Bluetooth devices that help you find your personal belongings like keys, wallets, or backpacks. They work with Apple’s Find My network and you can use your iPhone to locate lost items. While great for personal use, there’s a myth that Air Tags can be used for business asset tracking. Let’s see why an Air Tag for equipment tracking fails for businesses and why BLE tags are a better option for commercial tracking. 

Air Tags for Tracking in Business

At first glance, Air Tags seem like a cheap solution for business asset tracking. Technically they can be used, but there are many limitations that make them not practical for enterprise use: 

• Single-Device Dependency: Air Tags can only be monitored by one AppleID and device at a time. In a business where multiple team members need to access the same data, this is inefficient. 

• Limited to the Find My Network: Air Tags rely on Apple devices to relay location data. This is done through the Find My Network, which is a vast, encrypted, and anonymous network of Apple devices. AirTags are then able to connect to these Apple devices and estimate its location. If an Air Tag goes out of range of an Apple device, then tracking stops altogether. 

• Battery Life: Air Tags are not designed for continuous tracking. Using them for that will drain the battery fast, which is not cost-effective nor scalable for businesses with large asset inventories. 

• No Additional Sensors: Air Tags are just location trackers. They don’t have sensors to monitor other critical parameters like temperature, humidity, or pressure which are important in industries like logistics or healthcare. 

Imagine a rental company using Air Tags to track its fleet. While Air Tags will alert them to the general location of a vehicle, the limited tracking range and inability to collect detailed data like usage patterns or environmental conditions will soon become apparent. Plus, repeated notifications of “AirTag Found Moving With You” to nearby iPhone users will cause confusion or frustration and impact customer satisfaction.  

These limitations show how using the wrong tool for asset tracking can create inefficiencies and leave gaps in operations. Air Tags are simply not the most suitable option for businesses that need robust, scalable, and flexible asset-tracking solutions. 

What are BLE Tags?

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags are a more advanced option for commercial use. BLE tags are small, battery-powered devices that connect to a Bluetooth-enabled tracker and a cloud-based system. Unlike Air Tags which are tightly integrated with Apple’s ecosystem, BLE tags are platform agnostic and work with any device and system. 

BLE tags have: 

• Scalability: BLE tags can be monitored by multiple devices at the same time, perfect for businesses with large inventories. 

• Sensor Capabilities: BLE tags can have additional sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, pressure, or motion. This is useful for industries like cold chain logistics where environmental conditions are critical. 

BLE tags are ideal for industrial use cases where equipment and environmental data is critical. This makes BLE tags better than consumer-grade options like Air Tags for tracking business assets. 

Bluetooth Asset Tracking Systems

A Bluetooth asset tracking system consists of BLE tags, BLE-enabled trackers, and a cloud-based platform. Here’s how it works: 

• BLE Tags: Attach BLE tags to assets to continuously send data like location and environmental conditions.  
• BLE Enabled Trackers: These are asset trackers with Bluetooth modules that connect to BLE tags. They read the location, temperature, and other data from the tags and then send that data to a cloud-based system. The tag itself cannot send data to the cloud. 
• Cloud-Based Platform: Data is stored, analyzed, and accessed through a cloud platform so you can track assets in real-time from anywhere. 

For example, imagine a fleet management company with hundreds of vehicles across multiple locations. A Bluetooth asset tracking system will give you precise location, usage patterns, and environmental conditions of the vehicles. Unlike Air Tags which rely on nearby iPhones, BLE trackers will ensure data gets sent to the cloud seamlessly so you can monitor your operations without interruptions. 

Bluetooth Asset Tracking Applications

BLE asset tracking systems work in many industries and offer more functionality and flexibility than Air Tags: 

• Healthcare: Track medical equipment so vital devices are available, maintained, and accounted for within the facility. 

• Retail: Manage inventory with real-time updates, prevent stockouts, optimize stock levels, and locate assets quickly. 

• Industrial Applications: BLE tags are perfect for tracking tools and equipment in small sites, reducing downtime and ensuring efficient use and maintenance.  

• Construction: Track tools and heavy equipment across job sites, use them efficiently, and minimize theft or loss. 

• Rental Services: BLE tags help track rented items like vehicles or machinery so you can get them back on time and monitor usage patterns. 

Contact Us For a Comprehensive Bluetooth Asset Tracking System

While an Apple Air Tag may seem like a cheap option for asset tracking, they are not suitable for business use. BLE tags with a Bluetooth asset tracking system give you scalability, flexibility, and sensor-enabled solutions for your business. Whether you have a fleet of vehicles, high-value equipment, or monitoring environmental conditions, BLE tags is the way to go. 

Get in touch to talk about your asset tracking needs and see our Bluetooth asset tracking solutions for business.