- Elevation Labs has launched an AirTag case with a ten-year battery life
- TimeCapsule uses AA batteries to increase the performance of your AirTags
- It also has IP69 protection against dust and water.
Apple AirTags are great for finding lost items, but their batteries don’t last forever. And while their button batteries are pretty easy to change, wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t have to worry about changing batteries at all?
That seems to be the motivation behind a new, opinion-dividing product from Elevation Labs that promises to extend the battery life of your AirTags to a decade or more. Dubbed TimeCapsule, the device is essentially a large case for your AirTag that increases battery life to ten years.
The black case is roomy enough for two AA batteries, offering up to 14 times the longevity of the CR2032 cell inside a regular AirTag. To use it, simply take the top half of an AirTag and connect it to the white plate inside the TimeCapsule, which is what sends power from the AA batteries to your AirTag.
The housing can be screwed securely and is nondescript enough not to attract the attention of a potential thief. According to TimeCapsule’s Amazon page, it also has an IP69 rating, allowing it to keep out dust and high-pressure liquids.
Size compromise
You may be noticing the elephant in the room here: namely, TimeCapsule seriously compromises the AirTag’s portability, which is one of its key selling points.
After all, it’s harder to fit a TimeCapsule into your compact flight luggage than a small AirTag. And attach one to your keychain? Forget it. Sure, it’s not obnoxiously large, but it’s still much larger than a regular AirTag.
Whether that’s a problem depends on how you intend to use it. If you want something that has better weather resistance than Apple’s AirTag, it could be a good option. Likewise, if you don’t mind it taking up a little more space in your bags, you probably won’t be put off by its added bulk. But if you want a small tracker that can fit virtually anywhere, it’s a little less viable.
TimeCapsule costs $20 for a single pack (around £15/AU$32), $30 for two, and $40 for four. It can be purchased on the Elevation Labs website or on Amazon. With an updated AirTag 2 supposedly on the way, we’ll have to see if battery life is something Apple improves on or if TimeCapsule continues to hold its own.
