When Are AirTags 2 Launching? New Features and Launch Timeline

[MacRumors]

Apple hasn't refreshed the AirTags since their 2021 launch, despite the fact that they've become one of the most popular item tracking products. That's going to change in 2025, and we are expecting the AirTags 2 in the coming months.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman initially said that the next-generation AirTags would launch in the middle of the year (which is now), but we might have a longer wait. Recent information from 9to5Mac suggests that Apple will debut AirTags 2 in September at its iPhone launch event.

If Apple were going to launch new AirTags in the middle of the year, we probably would have seen them introduced at WWDC in June. That didn't happen, so September is the next likely target date. Gurman did say just ahead of WWDC that the updated AirTags are "nearly ready" to launch, and there is a possibility that AirTags 2 will be announced via press release rather than at an event, so it's still unclear whether Gurman or 9to5Mac is correct.

Rumors agree that new AirTags are not far off, so expect to see them at some point between July and September. If you're planning to buy an AirTag, it's probably worth holding off to see what Apple has in store.

There are no rumors of an updated design, so the AirTag 2 might look a lot like the original AirTag. We're not expecting a rechargeable battery either, which is a bit of a disappointment.

The AirTag 2 is expected to include a second-generation UWB chip that improves tracking range. With the new technology, you will be able to track an AirTag with Precision Finding from up to 3x further away. The UWB 2 chip in the iPhone has a range of approximately 200 feet, and the AirTag 2 could match that.

Apple is planning to make the speaker in the AirTag 2 harder to remove, which will prevent people from pulling out the speaker and using the device for stalking purposes. Along those same anti-stalking lines, Apple plans to make the speaker louder than before too.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested Apple will integrate the next-generation AirTags with the Vision Pro for improved spatial computing, but it's not quite clear what role AirTags would play.

Pricing is not expected to change if there aren't going to be notable new features, and battery life is also likely to remain the same if Apple is sticking to the CR2032 batteries.

What new features would you like to see in the AirTag 2? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Link: When Are AirTags 2 Launching? New Features and Launch Timeline

 

[MacUserFella]

I pray my nephew won’t try to eat the AirTag 2

 

[goonie4life9]

That's right, folks, as a tiny startup on the bleeding edge, Apple is still putting the finishing touches on the ALL NEW AirTag 2. You can rest assured that Apple will be pushing to get game-changing features into the best-in-class tracker up to the moment they announce and ship the device. That means Apple may need to pull some features at the very last minute, if they are not quite ready to delight customers or prevent a clear upgrade path. Stay tuned to see the ALL NEW AirTag 2, part of the greatest pipeline ever!

 

[DocMultimedia]

Launch timeline: some time after today. That's all anyone really knows.

 

[DocMultimedia]

That's right, folks, as a tiny startup on the bleeding edge, Apple is still putting the finishing touches on the ALL NEW AirTag 2. You can rest assured that Apple will be pushing to get game-changing features into the best-in-class tracker up to the moment they announce and ship the device. That means Apple may need to pull some features at the very last minute, if they are not quite ready to delight customers or prevent a clear upgrade path. Stay tuned to see the ALL NEW AirTag 2, part of the greatest pipeline ever!

And of course you'll get a Wallet text about it. 🤣

 

[MidwestMacGuy]

Can someone help me understand what I think is the deal killer with AirTags. The main thing I'd like to use them for is to track stolen items. I am a photographer with expensive gear and if someone stole my bag, I'd like to track it down. But the anti-stalking loudspeaker seems to ruin the use of AirTags for that purpose. What good is it if a thief is alerted that there's an AirTag on board and can locate it by the sound it gives off? To me this makes them almost useless.

I'd like to hear how Apple will work to ensure people don't get stalked yet, I can track a stolen item. Hopefully there's a solution for this.

 

[BelgianChoklit]

It would be so wonderful if they could make it thinner, even if this requires making it larger in surface. Unfortunately however, I think that won't happen because lf the size of the batteries that need to fit them. And I don't see Apple putting a battery inside them because that would make it more expensive (there's the battery and then a charger) and then people wouldn't buy them anymore I think.

 

[lkrupp]

Anyone know the status of the class-action over the AirTags being evil because bad actors use them to track people? And I just found out about a class-action filed against Tile same reasons. Will Apple and Tile be forced to remove their products from the market because some losers track their ex with therm? Only in America.

 

[miku2002]

I've attached airtags to my cat's collar and its been a game changer. I can find which box or under which furniture they're hiding, and also where in the backyard they may be hiding as well. Hoping the next version has greater range, and tracks tags while they're moving. Don't need rechargeable batteries, I replace the coin battery once every 12-18 months and it's fine.

 

[Mikeske]

A magnetic base

 

[tyrnnsrs]

Given my current AirTags will always continue to work in theory since the batteries are replaceable, I am not really sure what they could add to them to make me want to upgrade and buy new ones.

 

[ignatius345]

We're not expecting a rechargeable battery either, which is a bit of a disappointment.

How is that a "disappointment" exactly? You think they should put in a lithium rechargable that will work for a certain number of cycles and then turn the whole device into landfill when it can't hold a charge anymore? This is a pretty weak take, IMO.

 

[gh0stpr0t0c0lburner]

We're not expecting a rechargeable battery either, which is a bit of a disappointment.

This is not a disappointment. One of my favorite things about airtags is that they use standard batteries, and sip power so slowly you only need to replace them every 12-18 months. I have like 6 of them, my partner has like 4 more. If I had to recharge them all every few months, it would suck. There's no way a rechargeable version would get 12-18 months.

 

[gh0stpr0t0c0lburner]

The main thing I'd like to use them for is to track stolen items.

I get it, but they are specifically not designed for this. It's true they have worked for some people where things are stolen, but they are never going to make it more covert, bc the stalking implications are out of control. They have been very open that they are not made for this. You need to get something else, or deal with the limitations.

Can someone help me understand what I think is the deal killer with AirTags.

Also it's not really a 'deal killer' for others—it's pretty clear they sell like hot cakes.

 

[gh0stpr0t0c0lburner]

Given my current AirTags will always continue to work in theory since the batteries are replaceable, I am not really sure what they could add to them to make me want to upgrade and buy new ones.

If they do actually triple the range that detecting them with UWB works, I would replace some of my most important ones as soon as independent reviewers confirm this.

 

[klasma]

I'd like to hear how Apple will work to ensure people don't get stalked yet, I can track a stolen item. Hopefully there's a solution for this.

There’s no solution for this because the only difference between both cases is who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. In both cases, the one doing the tracking doesn’t want the one being tracked/stalked to know.

So the primary use case of AirTags is as a lost item tracker, not as a stolen item tracker = stalking device.

 

[t0rqx]

Given my current AirTags will always continue to work in theory since the batteries are replaceable, I am not really sure what they could add to them to make me want to upgrade and buy new ones.

getting pushed a firmware that degrades them. They done it before removing the battery feature.

 

[centauratlas]

Can someone help me understand what I think is the deal killer with AirTags. The main thing I'd like to use them for is to track stolen items. I am a photographer with expensive gear and if someone stole my bag, I'd like to track it down. But the anti-stalking loudspeaker seems to ruin the use of AirTags for that purpose. What good is it if a thief is alerted that there's an AirTag on board and can locate it by the sound it gives off? To me this makes them almost useless.

I'd like to hear how Apple will work to ensure people don't get stalked yet, I can track a stolen item. Hopefully there's a solution for this.

I suspect you could put it in a case and then just wrap it in silly putty and it would be hard to hear. I like it for our luggage on trips but for your use, you make a good point.

 

[goobot]

How is that a "disappointment" exactly? You think they should put in a lithium rechargable that will work for a certain number of cycles and then turn the whole device into landfill when it can't hold a charge anymore? This is a pretty weak take, IMO.

I mean dumping battery after battery into a landfill ain’t great either, and I pretty sure they can recycle the AirTag, not too sure about recycling burnt batteries

 

[Kabeyun]

There are no rumors of an updated design, so the AirTag 2 might look a lot like the original AirTag. We're not expecting a rechargeable battery either, which is a bit of a disappointment.

Not to me. Sure, there’s a green aspect of a rechargeable battery. Besides that, I don’t see how either wired or wireless recharging could do anything other than make AirTags bigger and more likely to be sealed shut, forcing a complete replacement when the rechargeable battery finally does fail. Coin batteries, otoh, already last beautifully long and are easily replaceable.

 

[lkrupp]

How is that a "disappointment" exactly? You think they should put in a lithium rechargable that will work for a certain number of cycles and then turn the whole device into landfill when it can't hold a charge anymore? This is a pretty weak take, IMO.

Yep. Just think about the $179 Magic Keyboard with Touch ID that has no replaceable battery. When the battery dies you chuck the entire keyboard and buy a new one. Bad Apple on this thing.

 

[Cicnod]

These never work. Tile so
Much better

 

[turbineseaplane]

Everybody must lose more stuff than I do, I guess.

I’ve never needed a product like this and still don’t.

🤷‍♂️