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AirTag 2.0

FelixDerKater

FelixDerKater

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 12, 2002
3,684
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Nirgendwo in Amerika
How soon do you expect an AirTag 2.0 release?

What features would you like added? I'll start with a louder alert tone.

Do you expect the line to expand into various form factors similar to Tile's approach?
 
I have a couple of Air Tags. I hope that Apple changes the shape. Or at least puts a flat area on them to make it possible to adhere them to a surface.
I like the Tile shape for this reason. The ability to stick them on a flat surface is easy.

In fact I have used Tiles for several years and have them on keys, luggage. Even TV remote once.
Not for much longer now they are selling the company to Life360.
 
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chabig said:
iPhones already have that. You can use the Watch to ping the phone quite easily, or you can use the Find My app from any device.
Click to expand...
iPhones already have it???? This discussion is about airtags.
I dont have, or want, a watch.
I know i can use find my on "any device' and id like an airtag to be one of those devices.
 
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Tumbleweed666 said:
iPhones already have it???? This discussion is about airtags.
I dont have, or want, a watch.
I know i can use find my on "any device' and id like an airtag to be one of those devices.
Click to expand...
Heh - so you want them to put a touch screen on the next rev of AirTags? :rolleyes:

The point of these is as tracking devices...not as a source of tracking other Apple devices.
 
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Reckon an easy change for a second generation - or even just a mid-cycle refresh - may be to add a few colour options to the lineup.

Not sure really what upgrades they could add, apart from different form factors (e.g. card-shaped for wallets).
 
- rob - said:
Maybe in five years? I haven’t gotten a sense that this product has taken off. Part of the reason is people still aren’t commuting and traveling much.

Apple waits to update products people are crazy about. So I’d guess they slow roll AirTags.
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Stock on these were always pretty reliable since day 1, but I had a VERY hard time finding them this weekend, and only got lucky yesterday with a restock at local Apple store - sold out at that location again by last night.

No one has them in stock (the near by Targets, Best Buys, Staples, Amazon also)

Either a supply shortage or these are making pretty popular last min. gifts/stocking stuffers.

As for a version 2, maybe an altitude sensor. (Ex. I'm on the first level of my house, Air Tag/Keys are upstairs, second level. so keys found at 0ft, but 30ft above me.)

And yeah, louder sound. Wish Firmware could jack up the ping volume on these.
 
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Probably just about getting smaller is going to change. 20% more battery and a sleeker design.
Maybe even a possibility to attach them to your keyring? ????
 
PhillyGuy72 said:
Stock on these were always pretty reliable since day 1, but I had a VERY hard time finding them this weekend, and only got lucky yesterday with a restock at local Apple store - sold out at that location again by last night.

No one has them in stock (the near by Targets, Best Buys, Staples, Amazon also)

Either a supply shortage or these are making pretty popular last min. gifts/stocking stuffers.

As for a version 2, maybe an altitude sensor. (Ex. I'm on the first level of my house, Air Tag/Keys are upstairs, second level. so keys found at 0ft, but 30ft above me.)

And yeah, louder sound. Wish Firmware could jack up the ping volume on these.
Click to expand...

They don’t need an altimeter, they work by detecting direction in relation to your phone. The tag itself doesn’t need to know where it is. The FindMy app would just need to be updated to demonstrate a user interface in 3D space. If you’re walking by it on the first floor, it should know that the AirTag on the second floor is above you and not below, using existing hardware.

Improvements for 2.0 should focus on further miniaturization and recharging. The use of a standard coin cell battery is the biggest limitation and largest opportunity for improvement — it’s 80% the volume of the device today.

Apple has extensive experience with fitting batteries into odd shapes. They could engineer a battery into the shape of the AirTag. A small lithium battery would allow for a flat shape.

An AppleWatch like inductive charger is small and ubiquitous enough now that it could fit in a AirTag and would enable top ups every once in a while, eliminating the need for an opening mechanism, further shaving off precious millilitres.
 
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ipedro said:
They don’t need an altimeter, they work by detecting direction in relation to your phone. The tag itself doesn’t need to know where it is. The FindMy app would just need to be updated to demonstrate a user interface in 3D space. If you’re walking by it on the first floor, it should know that the AirTag on the second floor is above you and not below, using existing hardware.
Click to expand...

This would be a nice refinement. Looking for an airtag yesterday my phone did suggest it might be on a different floor. Since I was on the 2nd floor that made it pretty easy, but had I been on the 1st floor then I'd have had to guess basement or upstairs.
 
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We live in a mid-rise condo building. We’re on the 11th floor, and have a storage locker on the second floor. We keep our suitcases in the locker until we need them. The AirTags in the luggage report as being “at home,” as opposed to “with you.”

so there’s some intelligence there that it’s recognized they’re at the same address, but not being able to be detected by my phone (presumably)
 
MikeDr206 said:
We live in a mid-rise condo building. We’re on the 11th floor, and have a storage locker on the second floor. We keep our suitcases in the locker until we need them. The AirTags in the luggage report as being “at home,” as opposed to “with you.”

so there’s some intelligence there that it’s recognized they’re at the same address, but not being able to be detected by my phone (presumably)
Click to expand...
Yeah - "with you" would mean it's within Bluetooth range.

Long overdue for Apple to put elevation estimates into Maps. (parking garages, it would certainly be helpful) :)

Edit: And people keep mentioning family sharing - that's a software limitation - also something Apple should have given us within the first year of these being out.
 
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I can see them being quietly forgotten about and dropped to be honest, it already seems to have happened
 
tomtad said:
I can see them being quietly forgotten about and dropped to be honest, it already seems to have happened
Click to expand...
Hah! How long do many of the Mac models go without a hardware refresh (hint: years) - and you're saying AirTags are dead as they haven't had a new rev yet? :D

It's a $30 product - hardly expect Apple to be sinking huge R&D $ into something with so little revenue. But, they are selling well. Many people here have been reporting how they're sold out on a regular basis.
 
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ipedro said:
Improvements for 2.0 should focus on further miniaturization and recharging. The use of a standard coin cell battery is the biggest limitation and largest opportunity for improvement — it’s 80% the volume of the device today.

Apple has extensive experience with fitting batteries into odd shapes. They could engineer a battery into the shape of the AirTag. A small lithium battery would allow for a flat shape.

An AppleWatch like inductive charger is small and ubiquitous enough now that it could fit in a AirTag and would enable top ups every once in a while, eliminating the need for an opening mechanism, further shaving off precious millilitres.
Click to expand...
No. Rechargeable just don't have the life. My suitcase was gone for a month. Would the rechargeable battery have lasted that long? Stick with commercially available batteries. Smaller batteries. They don't need to last 2 years.
 
I have a feeling there will never be an AirTag 2, just silent updates to small aspects of the internals or something, like a more accurate ultra wide band chip. I don't even think Apple will make AirTags in other shapes like a credit card.

FindMy software on the other hand... we need the ability to share tags with family members.
 
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