What you need to know
- Apple's AirTag item tracker has been removed from sale at an Australian retailer.
- Concerns have been raised that children could access AirTag's battery and swallow it.
Apple's new AirTag is no longer on sale at Australian retailer Officeworks after it was deemed to pose a safety risk to children. It's thought that they could easily access the tracker's removable battery and then swallow it.
According to a Gizmodo Australia report, the news first began floating around Reddit on Monday with customers told that while AirTag trackers were previously available at the store, that was no longer the case. Customers were told that a potential swallowing hazard – caused by the CR2032 battery – was the reason.
"Staff at the counter could see on their system that they had some in stock, and one staff member even remembered selling them on Friday, but they couldn't find them today," the user wrote in a post.They went onto say that an Officeworks representative told them that the AirTags were removed due to safety concerns, specifically regarding how easy it is for the button-cell battery to be removed by a child.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has confirmed that it is aware of concerns relating to how easily the AirTag battery can be accessed, although Apple says that it meets all required criteria thanks to a two-step process.
"AirTag is designed to meet international child safety standards, including those in Australia, by requiring a two step push-and-turn mechanism to access the user-replaceable battery," an Apple representative said in an email to Gizmodo Australia."We are following the regulations closely and are working to ensure that our products will meet or exceed new standards, including those for package labelling, well ahead of the timeline required."
Customers worried about AirTag batteries do have other options, of course. Despite the arrival of AirTag, Tile still makes some of the best Bluetooth trackers you can buy and that is unlikely to change.
