Apple’s AirTag location tracking device is over three years old, and it is rumored to get a refresh soon. Here’s what to expect from the AirTag in 2025.
Since its launch, Apple’s AirTag has proven itself to be a very useful item. Reports have repeatedly surfaced of owners tracking down stolen property, and even finding where their airport luggage has disappeared to, thanks to the cheap white disc.
While there’s not much that can realistically change, there’s still an opportunity for Apple to refine the extremely useful item. Here’s what rumors say could be updated on the second-generation model.
AirTag: A 2025 update
The AirTag hasn’t been updated since its launch in April 2021, with it keeping the same design throughout its existence. With its fourth birthday just a few months away, this seems like an opportune time for Apple to update it.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo offered the fairly predictable forecast all the way back in June 2022 that Apple could bring out a second-generation model, based on gradually growing shipments. This makes sense, as it would be illogical for Apple to kill off an obviously popular product.
The AirTag is compact, but massively useful.
By October 2023, Kuo insisted that he was right, and insisted that a second-generation model will be on the way. The second-gen version would apparently hit mass production in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In January 2024, Mark Gurman claimed Apple wasn’t rushing to bring out the second-gen model, and could wait until 2025 to do so. This was apparently due to Apple having warehouses “full to the brim with AirTags” from overproduction.
Gurman went on to reiterate the expectation of a 2025 launch in May 2024.
AirTag 2 rumors: Longer range
The AirTag is a remarkably simple design by Apple’s standards, with the bulk of the enclosure barely covering a coin-sized battery. Even so, there are still opportunities for things to be updated in the very compact package.
Actual claims about what could change started to arrive in early 2024. Gurman’s newsletter said in January that the second-gen model will use an upgraded wireless chip to “bring it in line with newer parts inside the latest iPhones and Apple Watches.
Find My with UWB makes finding AirTag easy.
The theory at the time, given the limited parts that goes into an AirTag, would be a chip that upgrades the Ultra Wideband capabilities, extending the usable range.
By December, it was claimed the range will be expanded by the use of an improved Ultra Wideband chip by up to three times the existing distance. Based on the current precision Finding feature’s functionality working at up to 30 meters (98 feet) away, this could bring the UWB range up to 295 feet away under perfect conditions.
AirTag 2 rumors: Other smaller upgrades
The May Gurman Newsletter added that there could be changes to give it a louder speaker, as well as having a longer battery life. He also added that Apple could make a version of AirTag intended for wallets.
Some third-party companies that make trackers compatible with the Find My network do make some trackers for wallets. These typically use a slimline design that can easily slip into a credit card slot or behind a driving license or ID inside a wallet.
A disassembled AirTag
It’s not outside the bounds of expectation for Apple to bring out a version that fits in a wallet without a telltale bulge. But, since third parties are already making them, Apple may instead elect to stick with a design it knows well instead of branching out.
AirTag 2 rumors: Apple Vision Pro support
One of the more unusual claims for the AirTag 2 is support for the Apple Vision Pro. Said by Ming-Chi Kuo in October 2023, the comment is made in the context of Spatial Computing being a focus for Apple, but without exactly saying how they would work together.
A probable meaning for the cryptic claim could revolve around UWB changes.
In theory, using UWB, a device could identify what kind of AirTag is being used, and its relative location. It’s a similar concept to the Sony Mocopi, a set of poker chip-sized trackers that can be used for motion capture purposes.
With enough tracking points, such as an AirTag on each wrist, ankle, and major joint, it could be feasible under the right conditions for AirTag to do the same.
This could make it a lot easier for people to use motion capture for games, chatting with others, and even for indie game development. However, this is a bit of a longshot, and ideally would’ve needed a lot more purchases of the Apple Vision Pro headset to make it worthwhile for Apple to introduce.
Given the slow sales of the Apple Vision Pro, it seems this last AirTag rumor is very unlikely to happen.
