Technologies

AirTag 2 Rumors: The Most Recent Leaks and What They Mean

Recently reported rumors and leaks point to Apple’s AirTag smart tracker finally getting an upgrade.

It’s been more than four years since Apple launched the original AirTag. In Apple years, that’s practically a lifetime. While the little tracker has become a go-to for finding lost keys, wallets and luggage, it is severely overdue for an update.

That sort of delay is unusual for Apple, which tends to refresh most of its product lines every couple of years. Now, as we head into summer travel season, when item trackers are more useful than ever, rumors and hints are heating up that a second-gen AirTag might finally be on the way.

Competitors like Tile, Samsung and Google have all made moves to expand or improve their tracking tech since AirTags first hit the scene. Meanwhile, Apple has stayed quiet, which is typical for the brand, but industry whispers suggest we could see the AirTag 2 announced later this year.

From design tweaks to Find My network upgrades, there’s a lot of speculation around what Apple could be planning. Here’s what we know so far about the possibilities of an AirTag 2.

AirTag 2 design

There have been no rumors that the AirTag 2 will look too different from the original. It will likely have the same tiny circular shape that can fit easily into a pocket or a compatible keychain loop. Some consumers have asked for physical changes like a built-in key hole or a flatter design — which we’ve seen in rivals made by Tile and Chipolo — but there’s no indication that Apple will follow these suggestions.

Similarly, the AirTag 2 will likely continue to use a replaceable CR2032 3-volt coin battery instead of transitioning to a rechargeable model. However, there have been reports that the current AirTag isn’t always compatible with coin batteries that have a bitterant coating, so the company might alter it somewhat so that it will be.

AirTag 2 features

Macworld has reportedly taken a look at code in the upcoming iOS 26 and found evidence that Apple has changed how it manages AirTags. Bluetooth communications between Apple devices and the trackers will be improved, making it more reliable, and there are new battery-related features too. iOS 26 also apparently utilizes Extended Precision Finding more, which would enable longer range tracking for up to 60 meters. Current versions of the AirTag only have Precision Finding of up to 15 meters.

More importantly, however, the new AirTag 2 might be more tamper-proof. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the second-generation AirTag will be more difficult for wannabe stalkers to hack. The AirTag has come under fire as a potential tool for stalkers, so Apple introduced safety features like sound alerts when it’s not around its registered owner. However, the speaker is apparently fairly easy to remove, which negates this effort. The idea is that the newer AirTag will have a speaker that is far more difficult to fiddle with.

Another important upgrade is that the new AirTag could have a longer tracking range thanks to the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, which is the technology that the AirTag uses to locate your stuff. (This chip is already in existing iPhones — it was introduced with the iPhone 15.) The longer tracking range of the new chip means you can keep track of your belongings at an even greater distance since it has three times the range of the original. This backs up the earlier leak from MacWorld that it would have Extended Precision Finding enabled. This, along with a new onboard wireless chip, would certainly make finding items easier.

Last but not least, there are rumors that the new AirTag will integrate with Apple’s Vision Pro augmented reality headset. It’s not entirely clear what this means, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has theorized that the location-tracking capabilities of the AirTag could be part of a spatial computing concept.

AirTag 2 price

So far, little has been said about the pricing of the second-gen AirTags. Currently, a single AirTag is $29 while a four-pack is $99(though a four-park can often be found for $75 or less at Amazon). The AirTag 2 could retain the same price, but with the current on-and-off tariff situation, the cost of the AirTag 2 is currently unclear.

AirTag 2 release date

It’s widely rumored that the AirTag 2 will be released in the middle of 2025. Since Apple’s annual WWDC event will take place June 9, that date seems highly likely for the announcement of the AirTag 2.

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Technologies

Toy Story 5: The Big New Rival Is a Tablet

Woody, Buzz and Jessie will battle a tablet in Toy Story 5, which is scheduled to hit theaters just about a year from now.

Pixar is giving its old-school toys a decidedly modern antagonist: a tablet.

During the studio’s Friday showcase at Annecy’s International Animation Film Festival in France, Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter revealed that Toy Story 5’s villain is Lily Pad, a «sneaky» and «prickly» tablet that convinces 8-year-old Bonnie Anderson that friends and games on a device beat dusty ol’ toys in the closet.

The first concept art shows the frog-faced tablet looming over Buzz, Jessie and Bullseye like a touchscreen tyrant of the toy box. As you can probably foresee, this is a battle between analog toys and always-on tech. (You can stream Toy Story movies one through four on Disney Plus.)

The Lily Pad reveal topped a jam-packed Walt Disney Animation and Pixar showcase, where the company rolled out updated release dates, never-before-seen footage and a couple of all-new original films.

Toy Story 5: The enemy is tech

The premise of Toy Story 5 is that Anderson gets a Lily Pad for school chat and online games. But the tablet decides that Anderson’s toys, including Woody, Buzz and Jessie, are holding her back. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack are all returning, while Ernie Hudson steps in as Combat Carl, honoring the late Carl Weathers.

Docter shared the opening scene of Toy Story 5, which shows a crate full of stranded Buzz Lightyears trying to escape a desert island. Toy Story 5 is set for release on June 19, 2026.

Pixar announced two new original films

Daniel Chong’s Hoppers, scheduled for March 6, 2026, turns an eco-heist into a critter-powered caper: 14-year-old Mabel uploads her mind into a robotic beaver to save her local pond from a highway project.

Gatto, slated for summer 2027, centers on Nero, a black cat in Venice who’s burned through most of his nine lives doing jobs for a feline mob boss. Now, questioning whether he’s wasted those lives, Nero stumbles into an unexpected friendship that could finally give him purpose. The film will be shot in a «living storybook» style, which is new to Pixar.

And we got to see new footage from Zootopia 2 and Elio

Jared Bush, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer and director-writer of Zootopia 2, showed some new footage and images from the anticipated sequel, which should come out in November. The audience also got to watch a 27-minute sizzle reel from Elio, the cosmic coming-of-age adventure, which opens June 20.

Technologies

Too Busy to Read? Google’s Audio Overviews Summarize Your Search Results Aloud

This new feature turns some Google queries into bite-size podcast clips so you can learn without reading.

The next time you wonder why school buses are yellow, you might not have to read a single word to get the answer. Google’s latest experimental feature can literally tell you the answer, in a tiny audio clip that loads right to your results page.

Launched Friday in Search Labs, Audio Overviews uses Google’s latest Gemini AI models to turn certain queries into 30- to 45-second, podcast-style explainers, complete with on-screen source links for fact-checking.

The move pushes Google’s AI Overviews beyond text, positioning Search for a semi-hands-free, voice-first future, while also raising more questions about what this means for publishers who rely on clicks.

How you can try out Audio Overviews right now

If you’re interested, you can try out Google’s Audio Overviews right now. Go to the Google Labs website, opt in to the Search Labs program if you’re not already signed up and toggle on Audio Overviews.

The next time you run a query, like «How do I stop apps from tracking my exact location on my iPhone,» Google might show you a button that says Generate Audio Overview, which you’ll have to scroll down a little to see.

You can then tap on the Audio Overview to process the clip, and then press play. You can speed up the audio, mute the clip and also rate it with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to better train it.

Below the player, Google lists the web pages it drew from, so you can click through to fact-check the information or just dig deeper.

For those with visual impairments, this new feature offers a glimpse at what a voice-first Google might look like. But until Google expands language support and proves the summaries are dependable, consider this a nifty experiment for now, not a substitute for reading the full story.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 14, #468

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 468 for June 14.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle honors Flag Day. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: It’s a banner day.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: O say can you see.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

TRIP, TRIPS, TROT, TROTS, RATS, LEND, SEND, TRAIL, RAIL, NAIL, RANT, STRIP

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie in to the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: