“If you’ve been hoping for a second-generation AirTag”
People are clamoring for the second generation of a Bluetooth luggage tracker?
“If you’ve been hoping for a second-generation AirTag”
People are clamoring for the second generation of a Bluetooth luggage tracker?
Remember this is Apple we're talking about. Gen 2 will introduce additional form factors and fanboys will call it "game changing", "amazing", and god knows what else.
Air tag pro, in our newly invented color "basically black"
"Now with the iStalk+ monthly service!"
For only $50/month disable tracker detection on your trackers!
"it's our most AirTag ever"
New form factor you say?
Credit card sized trackers are handy for wallets.
Next version will make the current generation cease working, even though there's nothing wrong with the hardware
Isn't apple quite good at supporting old products?
100%
Aside from that iPhone 6s batterygate issue back in 2017, they’ve generally been one of the best companies at keeping old hardware running.
Yes, vastly better on the average compared to PC makers and other phone makers. Having worked at an Apple Store once upon a time, we were happy to help the technically-savvy keep ancient stuff working if they had a need, but no way would we take the time to help a typical tech-phobe granny get one last year out of unsupported hardware. Granny gets a new mac that ‘just works’! It’s just basic business, a different solution might work better for different customers.
I literally just helped my friends pick out a new Mac to replace their old one. Their reason? The decade old computer finally stopped getting software updates.
It makes sense to dump on Apple for being pricy, a walled garden, or being crappy with right to repair, but longevity / software support? Come on. They famously provide software updates for a long ass time.
Yeah, my old iPad Air 2 finally stopped receiving updates sometime this year. It’s like a decade old by now. There’s a lot of things to criticize from Apple, but legacy support isn’t one of them.
Next gen will be a square with rounded edges. Oh and the pro version will come in dark gray! But personally I prefer the round ones so I‘ll wait for the 3rd generation.
You don’t want the AirTag2 Pro? It’s titanium.
For a lot of Apple users it's about flaunting that you have the latest toy. A multi year old device is not a good status symbol.
OK, well… What would people want in a second generation AirTag anyway that couldn’t be addressed with software updates? Who, other than profit-hungry shareholders, can even see a need for a second generation AirTag? The original works just fine.
Only thing I could see is making them somewhat harder to tamper with and sealed with a rechargeable battery.
They fit on the Apple Watch charger exactly. A lot of people assumed they were originally supposed to be rechargeable.
I don’t know how that could possibly been seen as an “upgrade”.
It could be used to make the device completely waterproof.
There are plenty of waterproof devices with replaceable batteries.
The idea you have to seal in the battery (and the device goes to landfill instead of getting a replacement) is a myth.
Of course it can be made waterproof with a replaceable battery, but would you trust your grandma to swap such a battery so that it stays waterproof?
Would you want to be the customer support for a device like that with a billion users? The amount of idiots failing to close the case properly and drowning their device is staggering, and the idiots are usually the ones who call CS to complain…
Yeah, it’s a stretch for sure.
That said, because the tracking network is way broader than the other BT trackers, so stalkers love use and mod these little things. And they’re very un-Apple like, in that they’re easy to open up.
Stalking has been the one thing that AirTags constantly get slammed for in the press about. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sold an updated tracker that was sealed, packed full of resin, and marketed as “more secure.”
EU objects. The replaceable battery regulation kicks in 2025 and I believe it will apply to devices like AirTag.
Smaller. Thinner.
Faster. Stronger.
Work it harder. Make it better.
Those Apple fans see the need for a gen 2.
Show me those Apple fans. Show me anyone (aside from shareholders) who want a new generation. Really. Even those guys are pretty happy with the current generation.
Those guys are pretty happy with their current phone too. But when a new one comes out they buy it day one.
Tile works on both platforms
Tiles are fine for stuff around the house, but if you leave something out in the wild, that’s where they shit the bed. Tile’s tracking network is dependent upon people willingly installing the Tile app. Apple’s FindMy network was deployed via an OS release that most iPhones auto updated to.
Google is about to follow Apple’s lead and bake something into Android. Once that happens, Tile is up shit creek. They will have the worst tracking network on both iOS and Android.
Wile true, AirTag has significantly more coverage because all iPhones, regardless of AirTag ownership, transmit AirTag data. Tile, on the other hand, only works when people have the tile app installed and (ifaik) running in the background.
Edit: tile, not time
Apple opened up the find my network to third party trackers but I don’t think tile has decided to join it yet. Looks like this brand supports it though: https://chipolo.net/en-us/products/chipolo-card-spot
Apparently, that specific device is also exclusive to the “Find My” network
tbh i think Samsung's one is better just because of much larger network of devices
The current version has a replaceable battery, so I don’t see any reason to upgrade to some other device.
Maybe if they where cheaper people would be buying them in droves
Last year they were up to $1B sales.
They’re around $25 and priced pretty similarly to Tile an Chipolo. And unlike Tile, they’re actually good at precision tracking outside of your home.
Of all the stuff Apple sells, these things actually seem priced well. They’re like $5 more than the competition, but they have a much broader network.
Samsung ones have a pretty huge network too, especially in the eu
The trouble is Samsung is only for it's own ecosystem. The Google version should render the Samsung one obsolete.
My bike cost 1000€, the cost of an AirTag is a rounding error when keeping it safe.
Not everyone owns a 1k bike.
No, but I bought the pack of four and it's nice to have one on my bike, in my car, and in my bag where my laptop and iPad live when I'm traveling.
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