Apple solves biggest flaw with AirPods: how to find them when they get lost

Apple has finally come up with a way to avoid losing the tiny AirPods. Photo / Getty Images

From the moment Apple unveiled the tiny AirPods, the biggest concern was how could you avoid losing the very tiny, and very expensive, earphones.

Now Apple has a cunning plan - and the only mystery is why it didn't do it earlier.

The beta version of iOS 10.3 which has been released to developers has an extra feature in the Find My iPhone app, allowing you to add your fancy (or freaky, in the eyes of some) pods to the list of Apple gadgets you want to keep track of.

First of all you can see the location of the AirPods on a map, but that relies on them being able to communicate with your Apple devices through Bluetooth.

The beta version of iOS 10.3 which has been released to developers has an extra feature in the Find My iPhone app, allowing you to add your AirPods. Photos / Apple website

So, as long as they are within 10 metres or so of your iPhone, iPad or Mac, you'll see their current location to reassure you that they are in your home or office and you didn't drop them on the train.

If the AirPods are not near one of your Apple devices, of if they are in the case and it has run out of charge, the map will show their last known location.

Like with an iPhone on mute, you will be able to use the Find My AirPods feature to force the AirPods to emit an audible noise.

If you have one of the AirPods in your hand, and you're searching for the other one somewhere in the house, you can mute one AirPod from making the beep sound to better locate the lost one.

For anyone who has ever used an Apple Watch to force their iPhone to beep so they can find it in their house, the addition of the Find My AirPods feature just seems like common sense.

Apple AirPods with the charging case. Photo / Juha Saarinen

Now, if Apple could invent a way to stop you accidentally putting your AirPods in the wash, they'll have fixed all of the world's greatest problems - well, most of them.

Apple's plan to solve the missing AirPod problem comes two weeks after it removed a third-party app Find My AirPods from the app store.

The only catch with Apple's Find My AirPods for most people is that they will have to wait for a few weeks until iOS 10.3, with a rumoured cinema mode for using your iPhone in the theatre, is expected to be released to the public.