AirTags accessories are already appearing ahead of potentially imminent launch

Nomad Airtags Pouch (Image credit: Evan Blass)

What you need to know

New accessories designed for Apple's unannounced AirTags have started to leak.

Apple might be getting ready to launch its AirTags item trackers sooner rather than later after leaker Evan Blass shared images of what appears to be Nomad accessories designed for the little pucks.

According to Blass, the images were taken from Nomad's 2021 roadmap. They include a keychain made of leather and a braided lanyard for attaching an AirTag to a pair of glasses.

Nomad Airtags Glasses Holder (Image credit: Evan Blass)

Well gauging by luxe accessor maker Nomad, which has AirTags-enabled products on its 2021 roadmap, the small IoT devices will be out this year. Nomad is planning to introduce both a leather keyfob as well as a clever -- if somewhat bulky -- AirTag-powered glasses strap.

Apple had been rumored to have AirTags ready to go already and it was always only a matter of time before they would be released. While that still hasn't happened as yet, the fact accessory makers are getting their ducks in a row might suggest that they know something we don't. After all, iPhone cases often leak in advance of new iPhone announcements, for example.

AirTags have been rumored for longer than I care to remember. Similar to Tile trackers, AirTags will allow users to keep track of anything from their keys to their glasses and everything in between. Using the power of ultra-wideband, AirTags should be able to show people exactly where a lost item is, usually with more accuracy than standard trackers.

At this point, it's almost a given that Apple will release AirTags in 2021. It's just a matter of which month.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.