iFixit Shares AirTag Teardown Revealing 'Impressively Compact' Design Compared to Tile Mate and Galaxy SmartTag

iFixit has shared the first of its two-part series in tearing down Apple's AirTag item tracker, revealing that Apple had to make impressive design decisions to achieve its small design, including rethinking the speaker layout.

airtags teardown tile mat galaxy smarttag
For comparison, iFixit compared Apple's ‌AirTag‌ to the Tile Mate and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag. Compared to the competition, ‌AirTag‌ is the smallest in size, with the most internal space used to house the battery itself. One notable design difference is ‌AirTag‌'s lack of a built-in keyring hole, which iFixit attributes to Apple's history of "turning essential functions into premium, add-on accessories."

An x-ray of the three devices does indeed show that Apple wasted no internal space for its item tracker. On the other hand, the Tile Mate and Galaxy SmartTag seem to be "sprawling" with internal space, and despite their larger footprints, neither tracker includes ultra-wideband technology like AirTags. It is worth noting that Samsung recently launched an ultra-wideband variant of the Galaxy SmartTag; however, iFixit was unable to obtain one for its comparison.

airtags ifixit battery replacement
The Tile Mate, Galaxy SmartTag, and ‌AirTag‌ all feature coin cell replaceable batteries. ‌AirTag‌ and the Galaxy SmartTag use a .66Wh CR2032 battery, while the Tile Mate uses a smaller .39Wh CR1632 battery. ‌AirTag‌ features a twist and lift mechanism for its backplate in terms of battery replacement, but it doesn't include an easy way to lift the backplate if you happen to have greasy or slippery hands.

All three trackers open up with finger power—no other tools required! That said, the AirTag is by far the most difficult, especially if you indulged in a snack earlier and have greasy digits. Imagine opening a stubborn pickle jar with just two slippery thumbs, and you’ve got the idea. The other trackers have dedicated divots for separating the pieces with a fingernail—moisturize to your heart’s content!

Replacing the battery is the furthest an average customer will be able to get into their ‌AirTag‌ without proper tooling. Even in that case, iFixit says Apple showed "surprising restraint in sealing the ‌AirTag‌," noting that completely opening the tracker only requires a vise and some plastic sticks.

airtags speaker teardown
‌AirTag‌ features a built-in speaker which emits sounds when pinged by a paired iPhone through the Find My app, during set-up and other situations. However, given its small form factor, Apple had to think of a new way to fit a speaker into the tracker. With ‌AirTag‌, Apple decided to use the entire body as the speaker driver, with the underside of the cover serving as the speaker's magnet.

It’s circles all the way down as you head inside the AirTag. Did you notice the “button” on the underside of the cover? That’s not a clickable button, like the Mate and SmartTag have, but rather the magnet we saw earlier in the X-ray. It sits right inside the donut-shaped logic board, nested into a coil of copper to form a speaker. You read that right—the AirTag’s body is essentially a speaker driver. Power is sent to the voice coil, which drives the magnet mounted to the diaphragm—in this case, the plastic cover where the battery lives—which makes the sounds that lead you to your lost luggage.

As we noted earlier this week, it is possible to drill a hole through an AirTag to make up for its lack of a built-in keyring hole. Doing so will certainly void your ‌AirTag‌'s warranty, and while it is possible, it is a risk. As iFixit notes, "drilling in the wrong place can cause serious damage."

iFixit says that the second part of its teardown will include detailed information on the ‌AirTag‌'s circuit board and other hidden secrets. For everything you need to know about AirTags, be sure to check out our guide.

Update: iFixit shared some additional teardown images, providing a closer look at the ‌AirTag‌'s various components.

airtag teardown close up
airtag teardown photo

Popular Stories

Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
iOS 26

Apple Continues to Prepare iOS 26.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes Expected

Sunday September 28, 2025 1:30 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The account initially said iOS 26.0.1 would have a build number of 23A350, but they now expect the update to have a build number of 23A355. This suggests that the software update will include more bug fixes or changes than initially...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Sunday September 28, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest. Apple often...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iphone 17 ceramic shield

Regular iPhone 17's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Friday September 26, 2025 9:01 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the standard iPhone 17 model's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 27W to 28W with these Apple chargers:29W USB-C Power Adapter 30W USB-C Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max...
maxresdefault

Review: A Week With the iPhone 17 Pro

Friday September 26, 2025 12:51 pm PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 models have been out for a week now, so we thought we'd do a longer-term review of the flagship iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now that we've been able to spend more time with them. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has a Silver iPhone 17 Pro and a Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max, and despite a lot of concern over...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...

Top Rated Comments

justperry Avatar
58 months ago
I like what they did to the coin. ;)





Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 109 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iLoveDeveloping Avatar
58 months ago
What a beautiful design. Everything in a circle like it should be. I studied industrial design and as always apple create art, they are incredible at going the extra mile to make it look gorgeous inside and out! Something they got from Steve and Johnny! It actually looks a bit like Apple Park in there! ?
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dvanwinkle Avatar
58 months ago
That X-ray of the quarter ? ?
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrapShack Avatar
58 months ago
Look closer - omg there's a tiny Apple Park in there!



Attachment Image
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
myscrnnm Avatar
58 months ago

Seeing that x-ray, Jefferson was in dire need of a dentist.
Washington is on the quarter, not Jefferson.

What a beautiful design. Everything in a circle like it should be. I studied industrial design and as always apple create art, they are incredible at going the extra mile to make it look gorgeous inside and out! Something they got from Steve and Johnny! It actually looks a bit like Apple Park in there! ?
It's sad to me how underrated Apple's design and engineering are. The company is constantly criticized for "costs more, does less" and "overpriced" and "outdated." But looking at the x-rays comparing the different tracking devices, it's immediately obvious how much more thought went into designing AirTags than the products that came before it. The other two look pedestrian, and the internal components are just placed wherever. In the AirTag, the layout of everything inside has been deliberately placed so that no space is wasted, and there's a beautiful symmetry to everything.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LordVic Avatar
58 months ago
I want a wallet version for sure.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)