Apple released a new beta version of its iOS mobile operating system today (which anyone can download) and it includes a new feature called “Find My AirPods.” As the name suggests and as with Apple’s other device-finding software, the program will allow owners of Apple’s $160 wireless earbuds to keep tabs on their whereabouts.
Each AirPod is pretty tiny, and although they’re supposed to charge in their carrying case when not in use, it’s quite easy to drop one and have it bounce away under a couch. Or, as The Wall Street Journal suggests, to leave them in a pants pocket.
The program locates misplaced AirPods in two ways. It either tries to ping them over Bluetooth—with a range of 5 feet to 10 feet, this is also how they connect to other devices—from a device connected to the same iCloud account, or it will show you on a map where they were last connected to Bluetooth. The app can also make the AirPods play a sound, so if you’ve lost them behind the couch, hopefully you can dig them out before they run out of battery.
Unfortunately, if even the software can’t help you, it costs about $70 to replace a single AirPod.
The update is available through Apple’s beta-testing site now, but if you’re not comfortable downloading unfinished software, you’ll probably have to wait a few more months before you can download the final version of the new iOS—likely when Apple releases some new mobile devices at an event next quarter.