Apple recently launched its second-generation AirTag, and while the iPhone maker claims the new trackers are more difficult to tamper with, a new teardown suggests otherwise.
The team at iFixit recently disassembled the AirTag 2 to see if Apple’s engineering team had successfully “tamper-proofed” the device. Specifically, there were rumours that Apple had made it harder to disable the internal speakers. This is a common mod used to prevent the device from chirping when it is away from its owner, which can be used by bad guys to track you.
On the surface, the AirTag 2 looks identical to the original version. The dimensions and the locking mechanism for the lid remain the same, and fortunately, Apple has kept the user-replaceable CR2032 battery.
Inside, the new tags feature a louder speaker, increased Bluetooth range, and an upgraded U2 ultra-wideband chip. This chip allows for much more precise location tracking, though users should note that this improved precision only works with an iPhone 15 or newer.
The main focus of the teardown was the new speaker, which looks like a small silver pill at the centre of the device. Many users disable these speakers to keep the tags silent, a move that can be used for stalking (thieves would use AirTags to track cars and steal them).
Despite theories that Apple would use sensors to detect if the speaker had been disconnected, the iFixit test proved that disabling it is still remarkably simple. By using a soldering iron to remove two small wires leading from the speaker coil to the circuit board, the tag was silenced without triggering any software locks or errors.
“Swing and a miss, Apple,” the teardown concluded, noting that while the speaker is louder, it remains just as easy to disable as the previous generation.
Aside from the speaker, the teardown revealed a new NRF52840 system-on-chip that handles Bluetooth and NFC functionality. While the internals have been refined, the overall repairability remains low, with the battery being the only component meant to be serviced by the user.
Check out iFixit’s teardown below of the new AirTag 2:
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