At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Targus showed off the advantages of a backpack with Apple’s Find My tech built-in. Previously, both Apple and third-party accessory makers offered keychains and clips to secure Apple’s AirTags to all sorts of valuables. With the soon to be released Cypress Hero Backpack, users will be able to track their tech in an easier and more secure way.
Apple’s Find My network is the most expansive tracking network of its kind. The company uses its Find My app — a consolidation of the Find My iPhone and Find My Friends apps — to locate contacts and devices on a map. With over one billion active iOS and macOS devices available for Find My trackers to connect with, it’s hard to imagine a situation where a lost item is undetected. That’s why it’s encouraging to see third-party companies coming up with intuitive uses for the the technology made available with Apple’s Find My Certification app. Regardless of whether a user is invested in the Android or Apple ecosystems, Apple’s Find My offerings objectively offer a better chance of success in locating lost items.
Targus’ new backpack is much more than an AirTag pre-included in a bag, or one with a custom slot to insert a portable tracker. The Cypress Hero Backpack has its own custom tech inside, which offers distinct advantages in usability and security. That’s important, because the size of the backpack is large enough to store Apple’s MacBook Pro. This line of laptops — which start at $2,499 for the base model and can be as pricy as $6,099 for the maximum specs — certainly warrant the need to be tracked. With a USB port and a rechargeable battery built inside the bag, it’ll be easier to keep charged than searching for the coin-cell battery required to power the AirTags long-term.
Cypress Hero’s Security Advantages
In less than a year, AirTags have become so ubiquitous in the tracking space that people are now aware of the trackers’ presence inside lost or stolen items. That’s partly because there have been reports of the trackers being used for nefarious purposes. People have found AirTags hidden on their person, or more dangerously, in the wheel wells of their vehicles. This was somewhat expected by Apple, and the company included software features to notify users when an unknown AirTag is determined to be moving with them for a period of time. The downside is that potential thieves will be notified of the AirTag’s presence and can search for it, potentially nullifying the ability to track the most important personal items.
That’s where the genius of the Cypress Hero’s design is truly evident. From just looking at the bag, it appears to be a standard backpack, with no indication that there is a built-in tracker inside. Targus says that the tracker is “unlike other portable trackers,” noting that the Find My tech is “highly integrated, providing additional protection against theft.” Though Apple has maintained that the Find My network is designed to find lost — not stolen — items, discreet location tracking tech seems to be a formidable opponent to potential thieves. It is not clear whether the Cypress Hero’s Find My tracker will notify an unknown user that a tracker is moving with them, which may be the key to understanding its effectiveness.
The tracker doesn’t just offer a way to track the bag itself, it provides a way to quickly ping a lost iPhone as well. The feature works similar to the Apple Watch’s Find My integration, allowing the user to ping a connected iPhone. This seems to be the future of Apple’s Find My software, as direct integration with commonly used personal items will provide the ease of use needed for mass adoption of the software. This year might just be the year that Apple’s Find My tech becomes standard in many consumer products, with Targus’ award-winning backpack one of those leading the way.
