"tear apart" or "rip apart" packaging?

Solution 1:

If you don't intend to say that you opened the package rather savagely, I would suggest using "tore open the package".

E.g:

I tore open the package only to be disappointed by what I found inside.

The choice of the phrase "rip apart" suggests the package was opened in a fierce and savage manner, probably destroying the packing material in the process.

E.g:

I had been waiting for the package to arrive all week and ripped the cover apart as soon as I got my hands on it.

As an added note I would like to mention that both the choices do suggest that the packing material/wrapper was damaged during unpacking. However, "cutting open" the package would mean that the entire operation was carried out in a sophisticated and careful manner.