{"id":393564,"date":"2026-01-27T18:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/393564\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T18:16:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:16:11","slug":"apples-new-airtag-can-track-your-camera-gear-from-farther-away-and-costs-the-same-as-the-old-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/393564\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple\u2019s new AirTag can track your camera gear from farther away \u2013 and costs the same as the old one"},"content":{"rendered":"

I like to tuck an AirTag in my camera bag when I travel, just in case \u2013 and the next generation of Apple<\/a>\u2019s popular item finder will be able to find missing items from farther away and from an Apple Watch. On Monday, January 26, Apple announced the first update to the AirTag with a second-generation model packing in the latest tech with the same price as the 2021-era tag.<\/p>\n

The biggest change to Apple\u2019s coin-sized locator is that it uses a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, so it shares some of the same hardware inside the iPhone 17. That upgrade, Apple says<\/a>, allows users to find items from as much as 50 percent farther away when using Precision Finding. The updated tracker is also twice as loud when using sound to pinpoint lost items.<\/p>\n

I thankfully haven\u2019t yet had to use my old AirTag to find a stolen camera bag, but I love using Apple\u2019s Find My ecosystem to figure out where I\u2019ve misplaced my phone or tablet. Precision Finding is like Apple\u2019s digital version of calling out \u201cwarmer\u201d or \u201ccolder\u201d while playing hide-and-seek. Precision finding will tell you which direction and how far the tracker is.<\/p>\n

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\"The\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Apple)<\/p>\n

While the update enables the Precision Finding sooner, like the original, when the tracker is out of range, it uses Apple\u2019s Find My network to pinpoint the location of objects that are farther away. This capability relies on signals from other nearby devices, so the tracker works better in busy locations rather than remote wilderness.<\/p>\n

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But another key update that I\u2019m looking forward to is that Precision Finding is now available on Apple Watch Series 9 or later and Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later. That brings Apple\u2019s clues as to distance and direction to nearby items to the smaller watch screens.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s been five years since the original AirTag<\/a>, the biggest question is likely this: Is it worth an upgrade? The second-generation AirTag upgrades the Precision Finding and the sound finding feature, plus it\u2019s also made with 85 percent recycled plastic. Still, the older model does what it\u2019s meant to do, which is find misplaced or stolen items<\/p>\n

Others may be a bit more disappointed by what\u2019s not included on the update \u2013 like the original, you have to buy accessories if you want to hang the tracker on a key ring. That doesn\u2019t bother me, though, as if I\u2019m going to use a tracker in hopes of getting a stolen camera bag back, I\u2019m not going to place the tracker somewhere obvious.<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

The updated tracker still works with previous AirTag accessories. It does need iOS 26, however, so it\u2019s not for devices running older operating systems.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one key thing, though, that I\u2019m glad isn\u2019t changing \u2013 and that\u2019s the price. The 2026 AirTag has the same list price as the original at $29 \/ \u00a329 \/ AU$49 \/ CA$39<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Browse the best camera bags<\/a> or the best camera backpacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I like to tuck an AirTag in my camera bag when I travel, just in case \u2013 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[786,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-393564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-gadgets","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}