Apple to Launch AirTag 2 Next Year, Featuring an Advanced Ultra-Wideband Chip for Enhanced Coverage

Apple, which debuted its item tracker, the AirTag, in 2021 utilizing the Apple Find My Bluetooth crowd-sourced network, is set to introduce an upgraded version, the AirTag 2, sometime in 2025. The AirTag 2 will maintain the same exterior design and similar dimensions as its predecessor but will undergo significant internal modifications to improve tracking performance.

The AirTag 2 will incorporate Apple's second-generation UWB (Ultra-Wideband) chip, already in use in the iPhone 15 series and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 series. This new chip offers triple the coverage range of the first-generation UWB chip used in the original AirTag.

Additionally, with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 series, Apple has introduced a precision finding feature that allows users to precisely locate and navigate to items in crowded areas using the UWB chip, covering up to 60 meters.

It's anticipated that the AirTag 2 will also offer a similar precision finding feature, enabling users to follow detailed directional maps on their iPhones to locate their items, rather than relying on the current method of vague positioning and audio cues.

Furthermore, as part of measures to prevent malicious tracking, the new AirTag's internal speaker is expected to be more challenging to remove. This change aims to deter the use of AirTag 2 for unauthorized long-term tracking by placing it in someone else's belongings.

iPhones can now automatically detect nearby unrecognized AirTags and will alert the user if an unknown AirTag seems to be following them for an extended period, indicating potential malicious tracking. This feature helps users check for any stealthy tracking attempts.