Apple could ship a new AirTag model next year - here's what could change

Airtag Hero
Apple's AirTag (Image credit: Future)

Apple's AirTags are over three years old now, and while they're still fantastic options for anyone who finds their keys mysteriously disappearing, they are going to be receiving an updated model.

That comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, where he suggests a new model is coming in 2025.

Gurman says the new model, codenamed B589, is slated to arrive "around the middle" of next year, and that "Apple is already doing test runs with manufacturing partners in Asia" in anticipation of launch. 

That lines up with a prior report from Gurman that people buying AirTags don't need any additional features, so we shouldn't expect a 2024 model.

AirTag on keychain

(Image credit: Future)

What's new in AirTags 2?

So what could a revised AirTag offer? Gurman's newsletter suggests we can "expect a better chip with improved location tracking".

That sounds like more of the same but a little better, but Gurman also notes he's hoping for a "louder speaker, better battery life and a version optimized for wallets" - I'd certainly agree on that latter point.

What Gurman wants and what Apple is working on are naturally two different things, but given similar trackers have arrived in card-like form factors, it'll be interesting to see if Apple rolls out any new versions of AirTags that drop the disc-like shape of the current ones.

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Lloyd Coombes
Contributor

Lloyd Coombes is a freelance writer with a specialism in Apple tech. From his first, hand-me-down iMac, he’s been working with Apple products for over a decade, and while he loves his iPhone and Mac, the iPad will always have his heart for reasons he still can’t quite fathom. Since moving from blogging to writing professionally, Lloyd’s work can be found at TechRadar, Macworld, TechAdvisor and plenty more. He’s also the Editor in Chief at GGRecon.com, and on the rare occasion he’s not writing you’ll find him spending time with his son, or working hard at the gym (while wearing an Apple Watch, naturally). You can find him on Twitter @lloydcoombes.