Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has apparently decided to delay the release of its second-generation AirTag to 2025 due to an overstock of the first-generation product.
What Happened: While Apple’s original plan was to launch the AirTag 2 in 2024, the tech giant has now resolved to push this date to the following year, reported 9To5Mac, citing the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter.
Notably, Gurman said Apple feels “no rush” to introduce the new AirTags. The company’s existing AirTags are still performing effectively, and Apple faces minimal competition in the “Find My” network.
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The decision to postpone the launch primarily comes from the overproduction of the first-generation AirTags, with retail stores and warehouses still brimming with the product.
As per the report, AirTag 2 is set to feature an upgraded wireless chip, in line with the latest components seen in iPhones and Apple Watches. This includes a second-generation Ultra-Wideband chip, capable of communicating over long ranges, an improvement over the U1 chip in older iPhones and AirTags.
The delayed timeline for AirTag 2 corroborates earlier reports from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, meaning consumers who need an AirTag today need not wait for the second-generation product. At the time, Kuo predicted, “The mass production schedule for AirTag 2 has been postponed to 2025.”
Why It Matters: First introduced in April 2021, Apple’s AirTags have garnered massive popularity as a device meant to assist users in finding their lost personal items like luggage at AirPort, etc.
However, over the years, concerns have surfaced regarding how some people started using AirTags for stalking, leading to a class action lawsuit in California.
In the lawsuit, victims have alleged that the affordability of the device, as it only costs $29, and the wide coverage of iPhones make AirTags an attractive tool for stalkers.
While Apple has implemented an alert system to notify individuals of an unknown AirTag tracking them, victims have argued that it doesn’t provide adequate protection.
Notably, Google has launched a feature for Android users to detect unknown trackers.
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