By ByteBot
Apple announced the second-generation AirTag 2 today (January 26, 2026) with the kind of upgrades users have been waiting five years for: triple the Precision Finding range, a 50% louder speaker, and Apple Watch support. The $29 tracker now reaches 60 meters with its second-generation Ultra Wideband chip—the same U2 chip powering the iPhone 17—compared to the original’s 10-30 meter range. For a product Apple calls its “bestselling item finder,” the five-year gap between updates is telling.
U2 Chip Brings iPhone 17 Tech to Item Tracking
The second-generation Ultra Wideband chip is the headline feature. Precision Finding now operates at 60 meters, tripling the effective range of the original U1 chip. That’s not just incremental—it’s the difference between locating your keys across a parking lot versus barely reaching across your living room.
Moreover, the speaker upgrade addresses another common complaint. At 50% louder than the previous generation, you can hear an AirTag from twice the distance. In a crowded office or noisy airport, that boost matters. The new chip also improves tracking accuracy in crowds and when items are moving, using the same Ultra Wideband technology that enables centimeter-level precision on newer iPhones.
However, here’s the catch: Bluetooth range remains stuck at 33 feet. Tile Pro offers 400 feet, and Samsung’s SmartTag2 hits 393 feet. Apple’s relying on its massive Find My network—billions of Apple devices acting as location beacons—to compensate for short-range Bluetooth. That works if you’re in a city with dense iPhone penetration. Less so if you’re tracking luggage in a rural area.
Apple Watch Gets Precision Finding for the First Time
Apple Watch Series 9, Series 11, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 (running watchOS 26.2.1) now support Precision Finding. You can locate lost items from your wrist using haptic feedback, visual cues, and audio alerts—no iPhone required. For anyone who’s ever juggled groceries while trying to find their car keys, this is genuinely useful.
Furthermore, the feature signals Apple’s continued expansion of the Find My ecosystem to wearables. It’s also a competitive advantage: neither Tile nor Samsung SmartTag offer native watch integration at this level.
Five Years Between Updates Raises Questions
The original AirTag launched in April 2021. Five years is an eternity in consumer tech—especially when competitors have already delivered better specs. Tile Pro and SmartTag2 both exceed AirTag’s Bluetooth range. SmartTag2 offers 700 days of battery life versus AirTag’s 1 year. Samsung even added an AR mode for visual tracking.
Indeed, Apple sold 55 million AirTags since launch, generating over $1 billion in revenue. That sounds impressive until you realize it’s less than 1% of Apple’s yearly revenue. The slow update cycle suggests low priority. Meanwhile, users waited half a decade for fixes to problems they’d been complaining about since day one.
Nevertheless, maintaining the same form factor means the entire accessory ecosystem remains compatible. Every AirTag keychain, holder, and loop works with the new model. That’s rare in Apple’s world of proprietary connectors and forced upgrades.
Privacy Paradox: Longer Range, Greater Risk
AirTag stalking cases surged 317% since launch. Class action lawsuits now call AirTags “the weapon of choice for stalkers and abusers.” Pennsylvania made unauthorized tracking illegal in response, with penalties up to 90 days in jail. Apple’s added cross-platform alerts, rotating Bluetooth identifiers, and setup warnings stating that tracking people without consent is a crime.
But longer range cuts both ways. Sixty meters of Precision Finding helps you locate lost keys. It also helps someone track you from farther away. The privacy improvements—Android compatibility for unknown tracker alerts, louder chimes to help locate hidden AirTags—are reactive, not proactive. The fundamental tension remains: better tracking tech enables both legitimate use and abuse.
Additionally, developers remain frustrated by Apple’s locked-down Find My API. After five years, there’s still no official way to build apps that integrate with AirTags beyond the basic Nearby Interaction API for U1/U2 chip ranging. Third-party solutions like OpenHaystack provide unofficial workarounds, but Apple’s walled garden approach limits innovation.
AirTag 2 vs. The Competition
AirTag 2’s competitive advantage is simple: network size. The Find My network leverages billions of Apple devices worldwide. That crowdsourced tracking beats smaller networks hands down. According to Apple’s official announcement, airline partnerships—50+ carriers now integrated—deliver 26% fewer baggage delays and 90% fewer unrecoverable luggage incidents.
Conversely, if you’re in a mixed iOS/Android household, Tile Pro’s cross-platform support and 400-foot Bluetooth range make more sense. Samsung users get better specs with SmartTag2: longer battery life (700 days), AR tracking mode, and tighter Galaxy phone integration. AirTag 2 only wins if you’re all-in on the Apple ecosystem.
Available Now, But Still Playing Catch-Up
AirTag 2 is available for order today at $29 (single) or $99 (four-pack), with in-store availability later this week. Pricing remains unchanged from the original—a rare move in an era of constant price hikes. Free engraving is available through apple.com and the Apple Store app.
The upgrades are meaningful: 3x range, louder speaker, Apple Watch support. But after a five-year wait, “meaningful” feels like table stakes. Tile and Samsung didn’t stand still. AirTag 2 closes gaps more than it breaks new ground. For iPhone users deeply invested in Find My, it’s a solid upgrade. For everyone else, the competition still offers better value.
