Apple’s AirTag 2 rumours have been rife for seemingly years now and given how low the prices have been on the original item trackers lately, we have to assume the sequel isn’t too far away.
And, given just how low those prices are, I assumed the follow up would take some significant leaps forward. However, judging by a new leak, I wouldn’t be swayed from taking advantage of the cheap AirTags in order to wait.
MacWorld spied some features within an internal, unreleased build of iOS 26 that also offered potential insight into the next-gen Mac Studio. The findings reveal better tracking capabilities including an “improved moving” feature. This will offer greater precision when the AirTag is moving, according to MacWorld.
Considering the existing AirTag is designed to track devices that have been misplaced, stolen, or in-transit, the improved moving feature might be a decent upgrade on the original. Tracking will also be better in crowded environments, according to the report. The second-generation model may also include easier pairing (although, I’m not sure how. It’s utterly fool proof as if).
And that’s your lot, according to what’s been discovered within the iOS 26 build. There are some useful improvements, but nothing that would entice me into an upgrade over my current model. Previous reports have suggested it’ll be powered by a new Ultra Wideband Chip that’ll probably handle the aforementioned precision tracking upgrade.
Interestingly the code for the next-generation model is the ‘2025AirTag’ so it appears Apple originally planned a 2025 release. Looks like 2026 now.
