Updated and enhanced AirTag expected in 2025

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware

Apple is working on a new version of the popular AirTag item tracker, said to replace the current model at some point in 2025.

Picture of a keychain with an AirTag attached in a holder, next to an iPhone
AirTags, already a near-ubiquitous product, will get an update sometime in 2025.



Apple's popular AirTag device will get a new version, code-named B589, according to a new report. The updated device is allegedly already undergoing test runs with manufacturing partners in Asia, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The device originally debuted in April 2021, and quickly became a hit product. Details on what will be new in the device are scant, but users can expect to see a more powerful chip with improved location tracking.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also predicted the 2025 arrival of a new AirTag back in October of 2023. He expects the new model to gain compatibility with the Apple Vision Pro.

Gurman said he would like to see a louder speaker, longer battery life, and a version optimized for wallets. Third-party companies also make trackers that are compatible with Apple's Find My network, including some that are intended for wallets.

Although Apple was among the first tracker makers to include anti-stalking features in the original AirTag, it has repeatedly updated and strengthened those features. Other makers have since adopted similar measures in an effort to cut down on the abuse of the devices to intimidate and stalk others.

Rumor Score: Likely

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DavidArgento

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    XedXed Posts: 2,691member
    I'm guessing that the new ones will not cause many to want update any of their current AirTags. I do have one that I'll probably get for a keycard so that the AirTag puck doesn't bulge out of the plastic card holder, but that's about it and it's also not a pressing issue.

    Anyone use one of the FindMy-compatible Chipolo, Orbit, Eufy, et al. wallet cards?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 10
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,856member
    This is definitely an area where I think it'd be nice to have a thinner product as long as it doesn't compromise the usability of it. I think the current product is definitely too bulky in general but it's good for a first gen product. Everything gets better over time as the technology progresses. 
    grandact73watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 10
    maltzmaltz Posts: 474member
    I'm also hard pressed to come up with functional improvements for the AirTag, other than new form factors.  The battery life is a year (more, in my experience) and is fine.  I can see where a wallet version would be useful, but my wallet is RFID-blocking, so it wouldn't work anyway.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 10
    cougarmeatcougarmeat Posts: 16member
    The problem I have with trackers and similar "Alert" devices, is the frequency of their chirp is outside my hearing range. Chipolo addressed that somewhat by having their devices "play" a note on an ascending scale. It's too bad there isn't a way to set the Chrip's frequency (tone, not rate of occurrence). Because of my high-frequency loss, my hearing is above average at lower tones.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    soundvisionsoundvision Posts: 174member
    Xed said:
    I'm guessing that the new ones will not cause many to want update any of their current AirTags. I do have one that I'll probably get for a keycard so that the AirTag puck doesn't bulge out of the plastic card holder, but that's about it and it's also not a pressing issue.

    Anyone use one of the FindMy-compatible Chipolo, Orbit, Eufy, et al. wallet cards?
    I thought my Chipilo sucked, I don't use it anymore. It was good at telling you the last location your wallet was at, but can't tell you easily where in that location it is at. I would often times lose my wallet in my house, and I would practically have to find my wallet before the Chipilo would start beeping when requested. I have since stuck a bulky AirTag in my wallet and while it is not ideal, I can actually find my wallet quickly now. I do hope that Apple makes a wallet version.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 10
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 2,076member
    This would require radio communications other than Bluetooth alone, but it would be nifty if there was an enhancement that would improve the ability to track down your car in a parking garage. 

    The current version is fine for locating a car parked on the street, but garages decrease GPS accuracy on a map, and the use of Bluetooth for the final zeroing in generally means you can see the car before ‘find my’ gets a lock on it. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 10
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,778member
    Count me in for a new set.  Amazing product.  Some of our luggage went walkabout on a flight back from Athens via Zurich not long ago, and just like all the other stories one reads, we were able to find it and report it as being in LA to the airline.

    We watched it travel back to us from LA to Boston and then to Manchester, NH, not 'in-flight' but at the airports. It was returned by a driver from Manchester to our summer home in the White Mountains.  Only at that point it nearly got lost again, as the driver could not find us.  He had turned around and was on his way back to Manchester when we literally flagged him down on the Kankamaugus Highway (very rural and empty at the time) and asked if he had our luggage; the AirTag was that accurate!  It was a huge relief as the missing suitcase had all the gifts we'd bought including beautiful Greek silver jewelry.
    edited May 20 watto_cobraDavidArgento
  • Reply 8 of 10
    maltzmaltz Posts: 474member
    AppleZulu said:
    This would require radio communications other than Bluetooth alone, but it would be nifty if there was an enhancement that would improve the ability to track down your car in a parking garage. 

    The current version is fine for locating a car parked on the street, but garages decrease GPS accuracy on a map, and the use of Bluetooth for the final zeroing in generally means you can see the car before ‘find my’ gets a lock on it. 

    I just use the key fob to honk the horn for that.  Taking a picture of the floor/section signs are helpful, too, if you remember to do that up front.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 10
    grandact73grandact73 Posts: 42member
    Airtags easily need an improvement on accuracy, or some way to update more frequently. I used to use 1 Airtag in my check-in luggage, but have often found it does not update at all. Therefore, I've resorted to putting 2 Airtags in my luggage. 90% of the time, only 1 will update real time.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 10
    XedXed Posts: 2,691member
    AppleZulu said:
    This would require radio communications other than Bluetooth alone, but it would be nifty if there was an enhancement that would improve the ability to track down your car in a parking garage. 

    The current version is fine for locating a car parked on the street, but garages decrease GPS accuracy on a map, and the use of Bluetooth for the final zeroing in generally means you can see the car before ‘find my’ gets a lock on it. 
    I’ve found BT + UWB to work better than anything else that has come before it. I also like how the iPhone will auto-pin where you parked your car, but that may require using CarPlay. 

    If they do a card it could facilitate a better and/or additional antennae for the radios.
    edited May 20 AppleZuluwatto_cobra
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