AirTag 2 vs AirTag: What’s New, What’s Better, and Should You Upgrade?

The Cupertino-based tech giant has released the second-generation AirTag, roughly five years after the original. It not only popularized the personal item tracker segment but also paved the way for other companies to provide a similar tracking experience to buyers on a tighter budget.

Anyways, the AirTag 2 offers a better tracking range thanks to a new Bluetooth standard, a U2 UWB chip, and a louder speaker. In this article, we’ve compared the latest AirTag to the original one, so you have clarity on how big or small an upgrade the new tracker is, and whether you can still purchase the original one or consider upgrading.

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Improved Bluetooth Range

AirTag 2 also features an improved Bluetooth radio transmitter/receiver. Apple doesn’t mention the particular Bluetooth version or the exact range. All it says is that the “upgraded Bluetooth chip expands the range at which items can be located.”

However, given that the original AirTag is said to have a Bluetooth range of around 10 meters, the AirTag 2 should have a higher Bluetooth communication range.

First, Bluetooth helps your devices detect an AirTag and estimate its location. When you get close, Bluetooth confirms it’s nearby, and then Ultra Wideband kicks in to guide you precisely, showing direction, distance, and haptic cues so you can walk straight to it.

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Second-Generation Ultra Wideband (UWB) Chip

The original AirTag came with Apple’s first-generation Ultra Wideband chip, referred to as the “U1” chip. However, the AirTag 2 features the “U2” chip.

As the name suggests, the chip is an improvement over the older one. It offers better distance/position accuracy at typical, day-to-day ranges, and enhanced connectivity from farther away.

Since my AirPods Pro 3 also feature the U2 chip, I can show you the difference in the range. As shown in the screenshots below, my iPhone 17 (also equipped with the U2 chip) was able to locate the AirPods Pro 3 from about 8 meters away.

The AirPods Pro 2, on the other hand, were just detectable from a distance; Find My doesn’t show any directions when I’m standing at the same distance.

This, in a very real way, shows the difference between tracking an Apple device with the U2 chip and the U1 chip.

Hence, expect the AirTag 2 to start guiding you from farther away than the original model. In practice, that translates to improved outdoor/airport/stadium locating and fewer situations where you need to walk up to the item before your device can guide you.

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Improvement In Precision Finding Range

Precision Finding is Apple’s relative distance/position-tracking software built on the Ultra Wideband (UWB) radio and motion sensors. Combined with inputs from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and even your iPhone’s camera, Precision Finding provides you with distance and directions to your Apple device (with haptic and sound feedback).

On the original AirTag (with the U1 chip), the Precision Finding range was around 10-15 meters in ideal conditions (those with fewer barriers or objects between the devices). However, with AirTag 2, Apple claims to have improved the range by 1.5x, i.e., the increased range should be around 15-25 meters.

However, please note that Apple hasn’t provided the exact Precision Finding range or distance. Practically, that extended range means you can start following on-screen arrows and haptic cues from well beyond the living-room scale, making it easier and more reliable to find misplaced items (like luggage in an airport or keys in a larger space).

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Tracking From Apple Watch

While you could not track the original AirTag with an Apple Watch, Apple has added that convenience to the AirTag 2.

If you have the Apple Watch Series 9 (or later) or the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (or later), you can now track the AirTag 2. You can also access the features like Precision Finding.

To use the feature, your smartwatch must be running on watchOS 26.2.1 or later.

Improved Speaker Volume

According to Apple, the AirTag 2’s built-in speaker volume is 50% higher than that of the original AirTag. This also increases the distance from which one can hear the AirTag’s speakers to 2x of the older generation.

This could also act as an anti-stalking measure for humans, as it will be more challenging to cover up the sound. There were rumors about Apple making it harder to remove the speaker from the AirTag assembly, but we’ll have to wait for someone to teardown the tracking device and double-check before commenting on that.

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Share Item Location Is Now Available For AirTag

AirTag 2 integrates seamlessly with the Share Item Location feature, which helps users recover a misplaced item by sharing its location with trusted third parties, such as airlines and the police.

Given that tracking and recovering lost luggage is one of the most popular AirTag use cases, Apple has partnered with more than 50 airlines worldwide, including Delta, Lufthansa, Singapore, and United, to allow users to share their AirTag location via the “Share Item Location” feature.

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AirTag 2 vs. AirTag: Similarities

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