Four years after the original AirTag debuted, Apple is expected to finally launch AirTag 2 later this month. Here’s an overview of how the two products are rumored to compare.
AirTag 2 could launch soon, will it be worth the wait?
We’ve been expecting Apple to launch its new AirTag for a while now. Rumors originally pinned a launch around mid-year, then iOS 18.6 hinted at its debut, and finally many—myself included—thought it might arrive during the iPhone 17 event.
Now, the latest AirTag 2 expectations are for an October launch.
Perhaps it’s fitting for a product whose predecessor arrived much later than expected, despite evidence it had long been ready to go.
Will AirTag 2 be worth the wait?
Rumors indicate the AirTag successor won’t be a radical departure from the original model. Instead, it will focus largely on improvements to the existing feature set.
AirTag 2 will focus on upgrading existing features, per rumors
Regarding AirTag 2’s design, Mark Gurman reported that the product “will look similar to the current model”.
I suspect we might still see a slight size reduction to make the device thinner. For example, to make it fit better inside of wallets. Apple’s miniaturization skills have progressed a lot in the last four years.
Mostly though, AirTag 2 is expected to focus on three upgrades:
offering better range
upgrading the wireless chip
improving privacy, such as by making the speaker harder to remove
Likely, Apple will replace the current first-gen Ultra Wideband chip inside AirTag with the more recent second-gen version.
This UWB upgrade should lead AirTag 2 to offer Precision Finding at up to 30-90 meters, a 3x improvement over the current 10-30 meter range.
Privacy has been one of the longstanding concerns with AirTag, despite Apple’s software efforts to make it ill-fitting for stalking or other illicit uses.
AirTag 2 making the speaker harder to remove will be a good thing, but hopefully there are other privacy improvements coming too.
If you’re interested in picking up more AirTags, Amazon currently has a 4-pack for only $64.99. Is this because the company believes AirTag 2 is launching soon, and needs to clear inventory? Who knows.
But if you don’t want to wait and see what Apple has in store for the new AirTag, now’s a good time to buy.
Best AirTag deals and accessories