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Kuo: AirTag 2 Postponed Until 2025

I honestly hate mine after 2 (?) years with them. Over time, the AirTag is nearly impossible to open and a pain in the ass to close again. I almost break off my finger nail each time and the whole sliding with your palm of the hand doesn’t do S anymore.

Unreliable in the „find my“ app and then it claims, low on battery, even though I just changed the batteries or it claims to show my AirTags on the map, even though the battery isn’t even in the AirTag at that moment.

I will say, that they helped me recover my wallet and keys two times already and it’s nice to track your luggage at an airport
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: RebeccaL and lkrupp
In terms of "it just works and does exactly what it says on the tin" I think AirTags are probably the most successful Apple product I've ever used, so of all the Apple products I own it's the one that least feels like an update would add anything. Smaller and longer battery life would of course be good, but I see no reason I wouldn't buy the exact same product a decade from now, since it already does everything and does it right.

Of the four-pack I own, I've never once had them do something I didn't want, and never once had them not do their job when I wanted them to. Thus far I've only really needed to use one twice, but every other time I've tried they've performed exactly as expected--from figuring out where my suitcase was in the baggage claim/guts of the airport, to using the short-range thing to figure out where the hidden AirTag in the lining of the suitcase had migrated to.

The only thing I can even think of to complain about is that the high-pitched locator beep seems to be weirdly hard to localize with your ears, so I have to ping several times before I can figure out where it's coming from.
 
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Reactions: Analog Kid
I'd appreciate starting with basic functionality. It's not loud enough, and sometimes even when its literally right next to my phone it still won't activate. FindMy in general is like 65% useless. AirPods are even worse.
 
spaxxedout said:
Would really like card-sized AirTag, or find-my integrated with Apple Card.
Click to expand...
bankshot said:
pebblebee.com

Card Universal

The Card is an ultra-thin, rechargeable Bluetooth item finder that fits effortlessly into wallets, passport holders, laptop sleeves, or any slim space. The Card connects with either Apple Find My and Google's Find Hub networks, allowing you to locate your items easily through your smartphone.
pebblebee.com pebblebee.com

I got this based on a tip from here, and it’s been fantastic. Super thin and more importantly, has a rechargeable battery so you don’t just throw it out when it dies (like the Chipolo offering). Works great.
Click to expand...
I have one of these:
They are thinner, have more color options, are rated as waterproof (not just water-resistant), have light in addition to sound, and optional RFID blocking. They also sell smaller ones with a hole (for a key ring or similar).
 
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Reactions: Complex757, ZZ9pluralZalpha and bankshot
"postponed until x" feels like every rumor coming out right now

what exactly do the people in that big spaceship campus do all year?
 
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Reactions: Chuckeee and gleepskip
klasma said:
I have one of these:
They are thinner, have more color options, are rated as waterproof (not just water-resistant), have light in addition to sound, and optional RFID blocking. They also sell smaller ones with a hole (for a key ring or similar).
Click to expand...
Nice! That honestly looks a little better than the Pebblebee, and I'd lean towards that if I were getting a new one. But both are better than the Chipolo, which seems most popular, but has to be thrown away when it runs out of battery.
 
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Reactions: klasma
Positioning often requires multiple points — triangulation — much like how the GPS system works. Given the 2025 timeline, it's possible that the second-gen Vision Pro may have multiple points wide enough to send and receive precise positioning, rather than just one.

But could Apple not employ multiple devices in positional space? If an Apple TV, an iPhone, a Mac and an Vision Pro where all in the same room together, they could all coordinate with the Find My process to share positional data, since they can locate each other at the same time, creating a very accurate 3D map of the space.
 
bankshot said:
pebblebee.com

Card Universal

The Card is an ultra-thin, rechargeable Bluetooth item finder that fits effortlessly into wallets, passport holders, laptop sleeves, or any slim space. The Card connects with either Apple Find My and Google's Find Hub networks, allowing you to locate your items easily through your smartphone.
pebblebee.com pebblebee.com

I got this based on a tip from here, and it’s been fantastic. Super thin and more importantly, has a rechargeable battery so you don’t just throw it out when it dies (like the Chipolo offering). Works great.
Click to expand...
I have one too! Love it.
 
zach-coleman said:
This would possibly be the most incredible ecosystem integration they ever did if it happens.


What features did they backpedal? All I can think of is the warning one is traveling with you, but they were never meant to track stolen items, just lost ones. Apple would get in a lot more trouble for “supporting vigilante justice” than whatever is going on right now.
Click to expand...
This may be getting into semantics a bit, but I think it's safe to say that in the consumer electronics world, lost and stollen are typically in the same category. Even Apple recognizes that their "Find My" app is used to find lost or stolen items. I put links to a few apple support pages that popped up after a 5 second search on google about it for your reading pleasure.

If your Apple Watch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

Find My can help you find it.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
support.apple.com

Find your lost iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

If you lost your iPhone or iPad, use Find My to find it and put it in Lost Mode to protect your personal information.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

Find misplaced devices with Apple Watch

Use the Find Devices app on Apple Watch to locate your Apple devices.
support.apple.com


At the end of the day, the consumer was appeal was that they could track non-electronic items that are valuable and/or important. Thieves tend to steal these things. If you can no longer track things that people tend to steal, it's not valuable for that purpose... making it is less than what the initial pitch of them was.
 
bankshot said:
pebblebee.com

Card Universal

The Card is an ultra-thin, rechargeable Bluetooth item finder that fits effortlessly into wallets, passport holders, laptop sleeves, or any slim space. The Card connects with either Apple Find My and Google's Find Hub networks, allowing you to locate your items easily through your smartphone.
pebblebee.com pebblebee.com

I got this based on a tip from here, and it’s been fantastic. Super thin and more importantly, has a rechargeable battery so you don’t just throw it out when it dies (like the Chipolo offering). Works great.
Click to expand...


Oh nice. I like the chipolo one, but might try this once the battery dies.
 
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Reactions: charlesdayton
bankshot said:
Nice! That honestly looks a little better than the Pebblebee, and I'd lean towards that if I were getting a new one. But both are better than the Chipolo, which seems most popular, but has to be thrown away when it runs out of battery.
Click to expand...
Only issue with these (and with all third-party item trackers, IIRC) is that they lack the AirTag's UWB short-range precision finding mode.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
I'm stunned for a moment everytime I remember that Apple AirTags are a thing.

It's such a mind numbingly bad idea. How did anyone at Apple honestly think that a low cost device to help stalkers was a good idea?

Obviously these are used far more for good than evil, but given the magnitude of the evil vs the benefits for legitimate uses, it seems these are a net negative to society. You can't even argue it was a good idea from a fiscal standpoint - I'm doubtful the profits from these are going to exceed the legal expenses.
Click to expand...

Tile and other trackers have existed for 10+ years. And they didn’t had any anti-stalking features.
 
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  • Disagree
Reactions: BugeyeSTI, RebeccaL and ArtOfWarfare
It would be a shame to discontinue these. Every electronic device can be abused, from telephone scams to whatever folks will abuse AI for.

Improving the AirTags range, precision finding, size, battery and volume would be helpful, the Tile ecosystem isn’t as good but they had better reach and were much louder.
 
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Reactions: Complex757
Wonder what can change in a new version. More colour options will be good.
 
if you look at the patents around airtags, it lists a bunch of cool use cases that Apple hasn't really pushed yet.

Specific to VR, the patent had examples of attaching the airtag to moving objects (props/gloves/body) for more precise tracking for certain games/activities.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RebeccaL
MacRumors said:
There is a possibility that the Ultra Wideband chip in the AirTag could be used for relaying positional information to the Vision Pro in some capacity, but just how Apple will use the AirTag with the Vision Pro remains to be seen.
Click to expand...

Of course there's interoperability, that's how iCloud works: the information will be relayed to all devices that can improve convenience, not just the Vision Pro.

It's nonsensical to allege that the AirTag's delay is due to Vision Pro: AirTags sends an abstract signal for processing on the Vision Pro. If anything, the Vision Pro would be delayed because of the new AirTags.

Secondly, how on earth can the Vision Pro hope to serve as the core integrating device, when it hasn't even been launched ? It's got to serve a specific purpose, otherwise it'll be a HomePod with glasses. This article is virtually trash.
 
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ELman said:
I wonder how the FineWoven key ring hold up over time?
Click to expand...
Most probably pretty bad.

Based on the cases and wallet that get damaged easily.

And and a keychain is under a lot more stress dangling with keys and other sharp objects.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: DblHelix
bankshot said:
pebblebee.com

Card Universal

The Card is an ultra-thin, rechargeable Bluetooth item finder that fits effortlessly into wallets, passport holders, laptop sleeves, or any slim space. The Card connects with either Apple Find My and Google's Find Hub networks, allowing you to locate your items easily through your smartphone.
pebblebee.com pebblebee.com

I got this based on a tip from here, and it’s been fantastic. Super thin and more importantly, has a rechargeable battery so you don’t just throw it out when it dies (like the Chipolo offering). Works great.
Click to expand...
It does not support Ultra Wideband though?
 
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