Apple launches new AirTag that aims to make it easier to find things

Apple has released a new version of its AirTag, the small puck that can be attached objects and used to find them.

Around the size of a coin, AirTags are linked with a phone and then used to track objects as they move around. They connect to a crowdsourced network of phones, meaning that they can be seen even when they lose their connection with their owners’ device.

Now, however, the new version should mean that happens less often. The updated AirTag includes new wireless connections that mean it can be found precisely from up to 50 per cent further away, Apple said.

It also has a better speaker, which Apple said is 50 per cent louder and should be audible from twice as far away.

Otherwise, the AirTag appears to be unchanged from the previous versions of the tracker.

AirTags have proven somewhat controversial since they were first released, in 2021, because of accusations that they made it easier for stalkers and other malicious actors to stalk and follow people. In the time since, Apple has released a number of updates aimed at making that harder – such as feature that pings people’s phones if a device appears to be travelling with them.

In its announcement, Apple stressed that “the new AirTag incorporates a suite of industry-first protections against unwanted tracking”. It stressed that the devices are “exclusively for tracking objects, and not people or pets”.

Apple also pointed in its announcement to its “Share Item Location” feature. That lets people temporarily share where an object is with someone else – so that it can be given to airlines to help track down a lost bag, for instance.