Apple Airtag (2026) Review: Simply Better

It’s difficult to show nan quality betwixt Apple’s second-generation AirTag and nan almost-five-year-old original conscionable by looking astatine them. In fact, nan only measurement to show is nan galore scratches connected my aged tracker, picked up from each those years attached to my keyring, surviving successful my pocket.

While nan value is still $29, Apple’s latest locator packs immoderate halfway upgrades. The new AirTag has a second-generation ultra-wideband (UWB) spot that extends its Precise Finding scope up to 50 percent, though it requires an iPhone 15 aliases newer to do so. It’s besides apparently 50 percent louder and has a new, higher-pitched chime. Still nary keyring hole, though.

The caller AirTag looks… nan same. It’s arguably nan astir understated hardware creation Apple has ever made, pinch nary buttons aliases ports, conscionable a institution logo connected 1 side. It’s made from a operation of a stainless alloy sheet and a (now 85-percent recycled) integrative enclosure. It’s for illustration a heavy coin, a small bigger than a quarter, and slips into immoderate mini pouch aliases wallet. The artillery tin beryllium replaced by rotating nan backing off, but it's still coagulated capable that I ne'er felt location was a consequence of coming disconnected accidentally.

Apple’s accessories to connect nan AirTag to your keys are still much costly than nan locator itself. However, compared to erstwhile nan original locator launched, there’s now a rich | postulation of third-party options from nan likes of Mophie, Belkin and more, galore of which are much reasonably priced astatine astir $15. A $35 keyring for a $29 locator is simply a very reliable sell, Apple.

Setting up a caller AirTag is conscionable arsenic effortless arsenic its predecessor. Pull retired nan integrative tag, connecting nan battery, and a notification will popular up connected your adjacent iPhone. You tin past sanction it, delegate it to an point and it’ll subordinate your database of findable Apple hardware.

I’ve been testing nan scope of nan caller AirTag, and if anything, nan 50 percent summation successful Precision Finding scope is simply a blimpish estimate. Naturally, search tin beryllium affected by building structure, walls, a deficiency of adjacent Find My web devices and different interference, but nan next-generation AirTag’s “getting closer” surface consistently appeared connected my telephone erstwhile I was astir 80 feet away. The older tracker, however, needed maine to beryllium astir 30-40 feet distant to do nan same. The use of Precision Finding was constricted connected nan debut AirTag, because its scope was truthful mini — particularly successful engaged environments. The hardware upgrades now make it genuinely useful. The caller AirTag is besides faster to link and much responsive to my movements and abrupt turns, thanks, I expect, to nan caller ultra-wideband chip.

You tin now besides usage newer Apple Watches (Series 9, Ultra 2 and up) pinch precision location detection. After updating her Apple Watch Series 11 to nan latest software, my workfellow Cherlynn Low reported that locating nan caller AirTag was beautiful overmuch nan aforesaid arsenic connected an iPhone. She did find it somewhat counterintuitive to person to first adhd nan Find My shortcut to nan Control Center connected nan watch alternatively of going to nan Find My Items app to do so, but ultimately, erstwhile she did that, it mirrored nan existing setup for Precision Finding connected iPhones.

Apple besides redesigned nan AirTag’s speaker assembly, which it says makes sounds 50 percent louder. Possibly nan astir effective audio upgrade is simply a higher-pitched chime that’s easier to perceive complete ambient sound and successful engaged nationalist spaces. I could perceive it ringing retired from nan different broadside of my gym’s locker room, while wrong a locker, complete euphony playing successful nan background. My aged AirTag was inaudible until I was a fewer feet distant from my locker. I ever thought nan sound connected nan original AirTag was a small excessively low-key for thing you were urgently trying to find. (I’d emotion to beryllium capable to customize nan chime, though.)

It’s nan Find My web that makes nan AirTag shine. Apple’s monolithic footprint of complete a cardinal devices, from iPhones to Macs, continues to connection a search scope and finer precision than GPS and Bluetooth alone. If anything, this web is moreover much built retired since nan motorboat of nan first Apple tracker.

Since we tested nan first AirTag, Apple has added aggregate caller features, usually done iOS updates, that expanded nan inferior and versatility of its trackers. In iOS 17, you could stock an AirTag done Family Sharing. In iOS 18.2, Share Item Location allowed you to stock your search accusation pinch 3rd parties (such arsenic airlines aliases train companies), improving nan chances of uncovering nan AirTag.

There person besides been consequent information upgrades, including expanding chartless locator alerts to Android devices without needing to instal an app. Apple besides reduced nan clip an AirTag takes to emit a sound erstwhile separated from its owner, shifting nan interval to a random scope betwixt 8 and 24 hours. At launch, this was a three-day span.

Wrap-up

Do you request nan caller AirTag? While improved successful each way, it’s beautiful overmuch nan aforesaid device. However, nan AirTag’s simplicity and easiness of usage are 2nd to nary erstwhile it comes to Bluetooth trackers. If you already ain a azygous AirTag for your keys aliases wallet, upgrading to nan second-gen loop and repurposing nan aged 1 to track, say, your luggage, makes a batch of sense. You get nan much precise location search and sensing for your smaller item, while you tin trim your container worry if your suitcase doesn’t make it to your destination.

There's nary uncertainty nan second-gen AirTags are improved, and thankfully, upgrading to nan caller capabilities doesn’t travel astatine excessively steep a cost.