Apple announced the next version of AirTag on Monday. It has longer Bluetooth range, a larger speaker, and improved and more accurate search capabilities. The latter is powered by Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, which is also found in iPhone 17 devices, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, and Apple Watch Ultra 3.
With Precision Finding, the new AirTag provides tactile, visual, and audio feedback to guide users to lost items. These search capabilities now extend up to 50% farther than the previous generation, Apple claims. Meanwhile, the upgraded Bluetooth chip also helps increase the range at which items can be located.
Specifically, this update makes Precision Finding accessible from Apple Watch Series 9 and later and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.
The device’s speaker is also 50% louder than the previous generation, so you can hear your AirTag’s beeps from up to twice as far away as before.
AirTag devices also integrate with Share Items Location, an iOS feature that allows users to temporarily share their AirTag location with third parties. Currently, 50 airlines partner with Apple for baggage tracking.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the AirTag’s price. A single AirTag costs $29 or a four-pack costs $99, including a free personalized engraving.
First launched in 2021, AirTag quickly came to dominate the market for Bluetooth-connected lost and found devices, essentially forcing previous market leaders like Tile to quickly find an exit. The company argued that Apple was unfairly competing with AirTag because its search network quickly became as large as the iPhone’s installed base and Apple encouraged AirTag competitors to integrate with its Find My app. Other companies, such as Chipolo, accepted Apple’s offer to work with Find My and competed with AirTag with products that ran on iOS and Android or had different features, such as rechargeable batteries.
Still, Apple’s AirTag remains the winner, with third-party estimates suggesting that nearly 70% of trackers sold in the second half of 2024 will be AirTag devices. Apple has not disclosed AirTag sales figures.
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