"Find My iPhone" iPhone app. Photo: AFP
With the new version of the app, which helps connect users with any lost iDevice -- from an iPhone to a 15-inch Mac Book with Retina display -- owners will be able to plot a course to their
missing device rather than simply view its location on a map.
Before now, users of the app could, in the case of loss or theft, shut down their device, delete its contents and find its exact location on a map, but now users can also access a set of directions to help them get to the location as quickly as possible.
However, the app only works if the user has an iCloud account and it uses Apple's much maligned Maps for iOS to reunite owners with their Apple products. This means that iPhone and iPad users who have thus far avoided the temptation to upgrade to the latest version of the iOS operating system for fear of losing Google Maps functionality will have no choice but to do so if they want to guarantee the security of their devices.