The new generation of Apple AirTag finally landed this week, almost five years after the convenient item tracker accessory first debuted in 2021.
You’d be hard pressed to tell the AirTag 2 — technically the ‘AirTag (second-generation)’ — apart from the first version, by eye. But inside, it packs in some meaningful upgrades that make this tracker even better at finding your misplaced items …
The essentials of the first AirTag’s appeal carry over into this new model.
It’s easy to set up, and benefits from a network of over a billion iPhones and other Apple devices that can pick up the tag’s Bluetooth signal and (privately) report back its location. There’s no extra subscription service or ongoing payment needed, and because all the AirTag does is emit a low-power Bluetooth signal forever, it boasts about a year of battery life. And when it dies, you just unscrew the back to pop in a new CR2032 battery and you’re back in business.
Through the Find My app, you can see the last known location of your AirTag on a map. You can also share an AirTag with friends and family members so they can keep tabs on items too, like shared car keys.
If an item is lost, you can look at the map to see where the AirTag is (or at least, where a participant in the Find My network last reported the location of it). When you are nearby, you can then connect directly to the tag to play a sound, or enter the snazzy Precision Finding mode, where the UI directs you where to walk.
All of these features are common across the first- and second-generation AirTags, but the improved AirTag 2 hardware makes for a better experience.
Connection range and sound loudness are noticeably better
Simply, the Bluetooth and ultra-wide band range of AirTag 2 is markedly improved compared to the original AirTag. This means you can pinpoint your item more quickly; you don’t have to fish about to lock on to a tag’s signal anywhere near as much. The other hardware tweak with AirTag 2 is a redesigned speaker, that emits a significantly louder chime. In combination, these changes make the item finding experience faster and more reliable.
In my testing, I ‘lost’ my keys at one end of my house. In the diagonally-opposite upstairs bedroom, I couldn’t actually hear the pings of the first-generation AirTag at all. But the louder volume of the AirTag 2 penetrated the ceiling and doors, and was clearly discernible. It was also faster to connect to, probably because of the updated Bluetooth chip. The Bluetooth range seems a bit larger too, although it varies and is hard to measure accurately. (In an unobstructed field outdoors, you can easily get your iPhone to ping from >100 meters.)
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