It is not the first time that this magazine has speculated about AirPods with special capabilities. And we mean headphones that, in addition to playing music, could also work as headphones or as body temperature meters. That sounds like Apple’s idea.
In the latest issue of your newsletter power onwell-known leaker Mark Gurman announced that he believes that Apple “will update AirPods to become a health tool in the next year or two“, adding “the ability to obtain auditory data of some kind“.
Manzana has already added several hearing-focused features to the AirPods in recent years, such as Live Listen and Conversation Boost, but Gurman noted that those features are not yet FDA-approved or designed to serve as a replacement for hearing aids.
Given Apple’s health goals, expect AirPods to officially take over these kinds of roles in the near future. That is, by 2024 or 2025.
Some AirPods with biometric functions
Ming-Chi Kuo, another famous Apple analyst, I had already pointed out the company’s intention to add biometric health monitoring features to future AirPods models.
Apple’s patent files describe a headset-based fitness monitoring system that integrates a biometric sensor advanced to detect physiological metrics such as temperature, heart rate, and perspiration levels using built-in sensors.
Apple’s vice president of technology, Kevin Lynch, has also hinted that AirPods could be a source of health data in the future, as its Apple Watch smartwatches already are.
New hearing health features would not necessarily be contingent on the release of new AirPodssince current models already contain speakers and microphones that support these features, and could be added via a firmware update.
