Apple is planning to merge its Find my iPhone and Find my Friends services into a single app, 9to5Mac reports. The service will be able to track an expanded range of devices, thanks to a new hardware product that will compete with the likes of Tile and will reportedly be released for both iOS and macOS as a Marzipan-based application.

The new service will reportedly be able to track your devices even when they’re not connected to the internet by either Wi-Fi or cellular, but it will otherwise feature many of the current features of the Find my iPhone app. You’ll be able to put devices into “lost mode” and have them make a sound so you can find them, and the service will continue to allow you to find your AirPods.

One of the bigger new features for the new app is the ability to track non-Apple items. Apple is reportedly developing a new tag, codenamed “B389,” which you’ll be able to attach to an item you want to track. Once paired with your iCloud account, you can then set your phone to notify you if the item gets too far away or share its location with friends. You can also upload your contact details to the tag, which will then be displayed on a nearby Apple device when the item is in “lost mode.”

The Find my Friends portion of the app sounds like it has very similar functionality to Apple’s current app. It will reportedly let you share your location with your family and friends, and you can request for your friends to share their locations with you. The app will also allow you to set up notifications for when a friend visits or leaves a certain location.

There’s no word yet on when this revamped app might be released, but Apple’s software-focused WWDC could provide a suitable venue for an announcement when it takes place in June. Otherwise, 9to5Mac speculates that the new app could be announced alongside Apple’s 2019 iPhones in September.

Source: the verge