AirTag 2 not expected until 2025 as Apple sits on backlog of first-gen inventory::If you’ve been hoping for a second-generation AirTag, you’ll have to keep waiting. According to a new report from Bloomberg,…

  • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    “If you’ve been hoping for a second-generation AirTag”

    People are clamoring for the second generation of a Bluetooth luggage tracker?

    • Kraven_the_Hunter@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      6 months ago

      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.

          • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Honestly, there aren’t a lot of credit card sized trackers with a good tracking. Chipolo recently launched one with Find My support, but from what I can tell, most other credit card trackers are on pretty small networks.

              • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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                6 months ago

                I was using those for the better part of a decade. Cut over to the AirTags recently. The tracking network is night and day.

                If Google’s rumored tracker launches as expected this year, and Android is also has a core tracking service that doesn’t require a third party app install, Tile’s days are numbered.

                • Kraven_the_Hunter@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  6 months ago

                  I thought Google’s platform was going to allow 3rd party participation and Tile (among others) had signed on. Dunno, I haven’t been following closely but I thought I had read that. I’ll use whatever works on the new platform though, so if it’s proprietary then I agree that the other trackers are in rough shape.

      • Munkisquisher@lemmy.nz
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        6 months ago

        Next version will make the current generation cease working, even though there’s nothing wrong with the hardware

        • lud@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          Isn’t apple quite good at supporting old products?

          • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            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.

          • meyotch@slrpnk.net
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            6 months ago

            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.

        • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          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.

          • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            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.

        • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Of all the things to criticise Apple on (and boy are there a lot of those), software support isn’t one of them, particularly in their mobile division.

            • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              6 months ago

              As I understood it, removing the headphone jack was supposed to allow for higher water resistance. I don’t know if that is completely accurate, but that was part of the pitch at the time, and seeing how other manufacturers followed suit, it seems like there must have been some design benefit to it. I get the annoyance, but at least there is some logic other than money grubbing at play.

              And the switch to USB-C was to comply with the evolving laws in Europe—can’t really blame Apple for that, and the move was probably good in the long run.

              Apple isn’t perfect, but your complaints here are a bit off base.

    • CosmoNova@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      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.

    • roofuskit@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      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.

  • gregorum@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    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.

    • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      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.

      • gregorum@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        I don’t know how that could possibly been seen as an “upgrade”.

          • Ross_audio@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            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.

            • lepinkainen@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              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…

        • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          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.”

      • ExLisper@linux.community
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        6 months ago

        EU objects. The replaceable battery regulation kicks in 2025 and I believe it will apply to devices like AirTag.

      • gregorum@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        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.

        • EdibleFriend@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Those guys are pretty happy with their current phone too. But when a new one comes out they buy it day one.

          • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            6 months ago

            I worked for them for a while, and my observation was that the power users upgrade less frequently than the tech-illiterate ones. I think you actually see this behavior across a lot of machines people interact with—especially cars. People who understand and work on cars often like to take care of old ones and keep them running forever, while people who don’t know much about cars will just lease them or buy a new one when they can afford it.

            Waste aside, it isn’t necessarily a bad approach. If a user doesn’t know how to update their software or properly care for their device, and they’d rather spend money than learn, then remaining on a relatively quick upgrade cycle does all that for them without them having to think about it, just like how buying a new car resets the clock on your brake pads.

            I’d much rather have my tech illiterate mother be the person who comes in every other year for a new phone that she doesn’t really need rather than being the person who shows up with the crusty iPhone gen 1 who is furious that their long discontinued bible phrases app isn’t supported anymore.

            Sometimes, money really is the easiest patch to a problem.

    • Nindelofocho@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I kinda hope the next gen ones have a stronger nearby find feature. I love the feature but I still have to be within about 5 ft of it and practically have line of sight i imagine that cant be resolved with simple software updates

    • tsonfeir@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      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

        • tsonfeir@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          Apparently, that specific device is also exclusive to the “Find My” network

      • girthero@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        running in the background.

        Even then if you don’t use it enough android will remove its permissions unless you override in the android settings.

        • tsonfeir@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          Right. Although if you don’t use the iOS app enough and have the default settings, iOS will remove the app and you’ll have to reinstall it. Found that out the hard way with some games on an airplane with no WiFi 😅

    • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      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.

      • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Yea and I’ll tell you that Tile is far from working because I have never heard of Tile.

        And I own a few AirTags myself

          • JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            My point is that if tile requires people to have the app installed to broadcast it, and I, someone that has multiple AirTags has never heard of Tile let alone have the app installed, then it’s fair to say a significant amount of the population hasn’t either so their network has major gaps.

            I don’t doubt that the device itself is capable or anything. But if you aren’t apple it’s just hard to get to that critical mass of users.

    • voxel@sopuli.xyz
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      6 months ago

      tbh i think Samsung’s one is better just because of much larger network of devices

      • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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        6 months ago

        Yeah. I still have a preorder on a few android trackers. But picked up a samsung tracker for a trip where I would actually need to check my luggage and have it moved from hotel to hotel.

        in the US it seemed like near constant coverage. Had fun sitting in a lounge watching it pin every minute or so as it was moved to get loaded onto my plane or to luggage claim. And even in Japan (where Samsung has a much smaller market share because… beef with Korea), it was still maybe every half hour or so that it would ping while the luggage delivery service had it. Was especially funny to realize I was on the exact same shinkansen at one point and acknowledging I should get a drink before walking to my hotel.

        Tried a Tile a few years back (bought two right before the company got sold to the company that monetizes user data…) and coverage was atrocious on my dry run where I just uninstalled the app on my phone and kept the tracker in my backpack for a trip. I think I got one ping in something like five days.

      • Swarfega@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        Has Apple addressed the security issues that Google was holding out for before they released their tracking network?

        • roofuskit@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          No idea, but it sure seems like something you’d want handled before you announce and put a physical product up for preorder.

          • Swarfega@lemm.ee
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            6 months ago

            The issue around people being notified that an unknown tracker is following them to stop people stalking. This is for Google’s and Apple’s AirTags. Apple has not yet implemented this into their own devices. It’s not a Google problem, it’s Apple.

    • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      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.

        • Swarfega@lemm.ee
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          6 months ago

          The trouble is Samsung is only for it’s own ecosystem. The Google version should render the Samsung one obsolete.

        • garretble@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          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.

          • ililiililiililiilili@lemm.ee
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            6 months ago

            You joke, but I definitely bought a Civic for $950 and drove it a couple years. It burned oil and looked atrocious. But hey, it got me to work. Then I sold it and broke even. 😂