Apple introduced its first object tracker all the way back in 2021. In typical Apple fashion, the company hasn’t said a word about an upgrade, but as per reliable reports, the AirTag 2 has moved to the “manufacturing tests” stage with an added focus on privacy measures.
Now, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has shed more light on the biggest hardware upgrade destined for the second-generation AirTag. In the latest edition of his PowerOn newsletter, Gurman writes that the object tracker will get a more powerful UWB chip.
UWB, short for Ultra Wideband, is a short-range radio technology that enables spatial awareness. In the Apple ecosystem’s context, this tech stack allows Precision Finding to facilitate accurate distance and direction guidance for object tracking.
The purpose of Precision Finding is to offer more precise location and navigation instructions to users as they attempt to find their misplaced gadgets. In its current iteration, users get visual cues on the screen in the form of large arrows and distance estimation, alongside sound and haptic cues.
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So, how good is this new UWB chip fitted inside the AirTag 2? As per Bloomberg, it will be “on par with the one introduced in the iPhone 15.” To recall, Apple equipped the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 series with its second-generation Ultra Wideband chip.
The UWB fitted inside the current-gen AirTag offers a range of 10 meters or roughly 30 feet. The second-gen UWB chip will reportedly triple those numbers, which means the minimum location-finding range will climb up to 30 meters.
The UWB-powered Precision Finding feature is available for the iPhone 11 and all its mainline successors to date. On the iPhone 15 and 16 series, thanks to the second-gen UWB chip, Precision Finding also allows users to find a friend nearby using the Find My app.
In addition to an improved UWB chip, Apple has reportedly tweaked the internal design and made it more difficult to tamper with the speaker assembly. That’s a thoughtful change and would dissuade bad actors from illicit activities like stalking and theft.
Back in 2022, “silent AirTags” with their speaker kit removed popped up on online platforms like Etsy and eBay. Such object trackers are much harder to find without the beeping sound produced by the onboard speaker, especially if the device is hidden well or concealed tightly.