Apple AirTag 2 tipped to launch mid-2025 with upgraded chip and improved tracking

A new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims a new version of the Apple AirTag is coming in mid-2025.

Apple first released the item tracking accessory in April of 2021, making the AirTag nearly four years old, one of the longest-running Apple products without a refresh.

In his PowerOn newsletter, Gurman wrote, "In May, I reported that Apple is working on a new AirTag — code-named B589 — for release around the middle of next year. That accessory has now progressed in manufacturing tests, and Apple is getting ready to bring it to market."

The report lines up with previous reports that we wouldn't see a second-generation AirTag until sometime in 2025. Last October, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that mass production of the next AirTag had been postponed until the fourth quarter of 2024, which is happening now. In January, Gurman reported that Apple delayed the refresh due to overproduction of the AirTag.

Apple has "retail store back rooms and Apple device storage warehouses are still full to the brim with AirTag," he wrote.

What's new?

The newsletter noted that the AirTag 2 will get an upgraded chip that will bring improved location tracking. This hints that the AirTag could get the next-generation Ultra Wideband chip that launched with the iPhone 15 lineup.

Previously, Kuo reported that the new AirTag would get Vision Pro integration. However, with stagnating sales and a reported halt in production, this feature may not come to be.

Allegedly, the built-in speaker will be more complicated to remove as part of an anti-stalking measure. However, Gurman says we shouldn't expect to see a different-looking AirTag, so there shouldn't be any significant design changes.

Finally, he noted that the second generation AirTag will have "better range," which should allow the Precision Finding feature to be more accurate at longer distances.

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