Apple planning to release 2nd-gen AirTags in 2024

The Apple Air Tag.

The second-generation Apple AirTag could be in the works according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In his latest tweet, Kuo shared that the second-generation AirTag is likely to go into mass production in Q4 2024. In addition, he believes the second-generation AirTag will be an important part of the spatial computing ecosystem that Apple is building with the Vision Pro.

Kuo first reported on the second-generation AirTag last year when he shared his predictions about the AirTag shipments for 2021 and 2022. He believed Apple would work on its successor if AirTag shipments continue to grow.

Judging from the numerous reports on "interesting" use cases of the Apple AirTags, we are inclined to believe that there is indeed decent demand for the Bluetooth item tracker.

Furthermore, a report states that as of December last year, Apple has shipped around 55 million AirTags, which makes it a billion dollar business for the company.

A man in Netherlands mailed an AirTag to himself to assess how well he could track it. Another user decided to turn his AirTag into a card that fits in wallets. A traveller used her AirTag to prove United Airlines was lying about the whereabouts of her missing luggage.

The AirTags are also used to fight crime in the streets of New York City. The NYPD reportedly handed out 500 free AirTags to residents in the 43rd Precint to combat vehicle theft.

However, the AirTags have its fair share of controversy. There are reports of people using the AirTags to illegally track or stalk others by placing them in purses, backpacks, coats and other personal belongings. This led to Apple updating the AirTags to make them less useful for stalking. Apple also released an Android app, Tracker Detect, to enable Android users to detect AirTags and other Find My Network trackers or accessories.

Source: @mingchikuo via 9to5Mac