After 5 Years, Apple Finally Upgrades the AirTag

Apple’s AirTag has become the de facto “Bluetooth tracker” since its 2021 debut, upending established players like Tile. Now, Apple is finally upgrading the hardware. The second-generation AirTag still costs $29 for one, and $99 for a four-pack, and it’s available today.

It’s powered by the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip (U2), which Apple has already employed in recent iPhone and Apple Watch models. It improves the ability to find the tag’s exact location when using Apple’s Precision Finding mode, with up to 1.5 times greater range. You can lift your iPhone, and you’ll receive visual, audio, and haptic feedback as the device guides you to your AirTag. For the first time, Apple says Precision Finding is now available on the Apple Watch Series 9 or later and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or newer.

The second-gen AirTag is 50 percent louder than its predecessor, and Apple says it can be heard from twice as far away as before; there’s a new chime, too. Apple has also upgraded the Bluetooth chip for better overall range. There’s no notable upgrade to battery life, as Apple still cites “more than a year,” though the battery remains user-replaceable.

Photograph: Courtesy of Apple

Apple requires new owners of the second-gen AirTag to have an iPhone or iPad running the latest iOS 26 version (you also need an Apple Account and have to be signed into iCloud). The software features remain the same—everything is powered by Apple’s Find

My feature, which leverages a network of Apple devices to help you locate and track your AirTag. Also available is Apple’s Share Item Location feature, which lets you share the location of a missing item with an airline so they can find it on your behalf. Right now, this feature is available with 36 airlines, but that number will jump to 50, though Apple didn’t provide a specific timeline.

After the original AirTags were exploited to track people, Apple deployed tracking alerts (and worked with Google to enable these alerts on Android), and those same capabilities are here in the second generation. If someone places an AirTag in your bag, your iPhone or Android will deliver a notification about an “unknown tracker” on your person.

Apple says the second-gen AirTag is made from 85 percent recycled plastic in its enclosure, with 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in the magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating in the printed circuit boards, not to mention 100 percent fiber-based paper packaging.

The AirTag retains the same shape as its predecessor, meaning you won’t have trouble stuffing it into the same AirTag cases, key rings, and other accessories. Apple even has a new version of its official Key Ring accessory made from its FineWoven material to match your FineWoven iPhone 17 case.