Find Apple no longer shows the AirTags battery indicator

Apple has made a change to its Locate application, it no longer displays the battery charge indicator for AirTags. This has been a reality since iOS 15.6 (available since yesterday) and it is also the case with the iOS 16 beta.

Previously, a small battery icon, similar to iPhone battery status, appeared below an AirTag’s name and location when the AirTag’s card was selected in the Find My app. from Apple. There was no percentage, but the user was entitled to an approximate indication of the battery level. When the level became very low, the icon turned red and the user received a notification to replace the battery.

With iOS 15.6, the user always receives a notification when the battery needs to be changed. But the icon indicating the level is no longer there, unless the battery has a very low level. This appears to be an intentional move on Apple’s part, since the same flag was also removed from the Find My app in the macOS 12.5 and watchOS 8.7 updates, both of which were released 24 hours ago. Apple has also made a change to its level of support site (in English at least, the french page has not been updated since 2021).

Why this withdrawal? Apple doesn’t give an explanation publicly, but it could be related to the fact that the indicator wasn’t exactly accurate and could sometimes indicate the battery was about to drop, when it wasn’t always the case.