A new report from top Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple’s sequel to its popular AirTag tracking device is likely to go into mass production in the final quarter of 2024, suggesting a release at the end of next year or early 2025.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Kuo predicted “AirTag 2 will likely go to mass production in 4Q24,” and there could be an exciting Apple Vision Pro link, too.
“ I believe that spatial computing is a new ecosystem that Apple wants to build, using Vision Pro as the core to integrate other devices, including AirTag 2,” Kuo added.
AirTag 2 when? - iMore’s take
We’ve not heard much about Apple’s second iteration of AirTag since it was unveiled in 2021. In part, that’s because the AirTag is an incredibly small device, and while its integration with the Apple Find My network is industry-leading when it comes to tracking your belongings, there’s not really any room to innovate further, literally.
A spatial computing angle for AirTags of the future is an interesting prospect, however. Apple clearly demonstrated that its new augmented reality headset is in part made for use during mundane tasks such as cooking or working. With that in mind, AirTags 2 could offer Find My capabilities through the headset that could reveal the location of your tracker visually through the power of augmented reality.
The AirTag does have some visual elements, such as the Find My tracking app on iPhone, but applying that to augmented reality would really mark the next step. That aside, a second iteration of AirTags really begs the question, what else can Apple do to improve them? Battery life is a clear easy win, but AirTag batteries are replaceable and already last around a year.
The other area that Apple could make improvements, of course, is in the area of stalking and tracking abuses that have colored AirTags since their launch. Apple has made AirTags easier to locate, but I’d imagine there’s always more to be done in that department. One key area of improvement could be better protection for Android users, who currently don’t have the same level of security to defend against nefarious AirTags.
