Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), is preparing a series of very big changes for Find My iPhone, the American company wanting to combine the application for this service with the one for Find My Friends. The new application is currently called GreenTorch, being tested in beta by Apple engineers before being released for iOS and macOS, probably in 2019.
Apple will offer in the new application the same functions as in the two separate ones from now, plus some novelties that will be extremely useful for users all over the world. The first of them is called "Find Network", it is thought to allow locating devices even when they do not have an active Internet connection via Wi-Fi or mobile Internet.
The new application will allow users to share their location not only with family members, but also with any other friends, who can also share the location with other third parties. Moreover, notifications can also be created to alert a user when the person who shared their location arrives at a certain location specified in advance.
The new application will be able to locate any kind of devices connected to the same Apple ID, including AirPods, and the blocking function, Lost Mode, will also be offered. The interesting part is that Apple will also allow the location of products that were not created by it, and to allow this it will create a special accessory that it will put up for sale.
Apple is working on a new app that's going to replace the Find My Friends and Find My iPhone apps. Codenamed "GreenTorch", the app is currently being tested by engineers at the company. The new app will have the same features of the two existing apps, but combined into a single app, which will be available on both iOS and on macOS, as a Marzipan app.
Apple creates this accessory as one that can be attached to any object, in a similar way to the Tile accessory, it being interconnected with iCloud through Apple ID. When an iDevice moves away from this accessory, an alert will be issued to notify the person that he forgot to take the phone, or headphones, when he leaves, but that's not all.
This accessory will also be able to store contact information about the user, which can be accessed by any iDevice, so that the owner can be located easily. Apple would also like to use information from all the iDevices that use this system to create interactive maps that help in the discovery of lost objects, the whole project being very interesting.
For now, it is not known when the new application that combines Find my iPhone and Find My Friends would be launched, but not the special accessory for localization.
