It doesn’t look like they added any mounting feature, so you could screw it to your bike or similar. At least some holes to strap it onto something would have been useful.
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Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure
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I assume the tracking is more important than hearing the beep.
That may be true of lithium, which explodes instead of leaking per news reports, but the company doesn't stand behind their product either way. Never had a problem with Duracell. lots of problems with Energizer.
Non-rechargeable lithium metal batteries have a much lower self-discharge rate than rechargeable lithium-ion/-polymer batteries. So you'd have to charge rechargeable Airtags much more often than you have to change the button cells in the current model.
It’s annoying having to screw open the hidden compartment with the AirTag on my bike every year using special screwdriver bits and being located in a hard-to-access position, so I would appreciate something like that.
Harder? I’ve replaced the battery in my AirTags three times so far, and each time they opened quite easily. If changing your AirTag battery is difficult, you may want to review your battery removal steps.
I’d rather be able to just pop a new battery in there than have to rely on a likely non-user-replaceable-by-design rechargeable, making them even more disposable than they already are.
Normally only if you don’t use them, which wouldn’t be the case here.
...except those batteries won't last a decade.
I had a crapton of those Energizers left over from a failed toy startup that I consulted for and they faded in a matter of a few years - and that's just sitting around.
The beeping will probably be somewhat muffled, if you’re using it on an item you want to find.
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Rechargeable batteries degrade with time. You’d have to charge them ever more frequently, or buy new ones, or send them in to have the battery replaced (not cost effective). The fact that AirTags have easily replaceable batteries and thus can last “forever” as a device is what I like about them.
I think the AirTag's already impressive battery life already resolves most of the issues you explained. While longer battery life is great, its already much better than the usecase you're discussing.
Harder? I’ve replaced the battery in my AirTags three times so far, and each time they opened quite easily. If changing your AirTag battery is difficult, you may want to review your battery removal steps.
I’d rather be able to just pop a new battery in there than have to rely on a likely non-user-replaceable-by-design rechargeable, making them even more disposable than they already are.
I find them super hard to open AND close. The cheap back plate just doesn’t move anymore. No matter how much I try to „swipe“ it on my hand. At this point I need to use a weird knife to lift and swipe to rotate at the same moment gesture. Probably aged badly.
Never seen a lithium battery leak
I'm waiting for a larger enclosure so my AirTag can be powered by a car battery.
Not practical if you have numerous air tags and have some of them in places where it is difficult to regularly retrieve them.
The idea is actually very cool for exactly the applications I'm speaking of, but since we don't know if it will be compatible with next version of Air Tag it makes more sense to wait.
That’s true (though e-bikes in principle generally have the space), but it also won’t look as obviously like an AirTag holder as others usually do. It would still fit comfortably under the saddle.
It's possible the device has electronics that provide back-pressure to prevent discharging.
Temperature is a factor with battery capacity. I wonder if this case offers insulation to prevent the batteries getting too cold?