Apple is reportedly planning to bring a trio of health-centric features to the AirPods that include the ability to measure core body temperature, posture monitoring to alert users when they are slouching, and enhanced hearing for folks suffering from mild to moderate auditory impairments. Apple won’t be the first brand to bring body temperature measuring to earbuds, as some already offer the capability along with a few other tricks. However, these rumors do fall in line with Apple’s increasingly ambitious health-focused device plans.
It was recently reported that Apple is working on sensors that would allow AirPods to track heart rate, blood oxygen, and workout metrics. Again, Apple wouldn’t be the first to offer these features, as Xiaomi-backed Amazfit sells the PowerBuds earbuds that come equipped with a PPG heart rate sensor to measure and send alerts during workouts. However, with Apple selling millions of AirPods each year, the company definitely has the potential to make these health-centric features more mainstream within the TWS earbuds segment.
Apple is already at work with AirPods prototypes that can measure core body temperature from inside the ear, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal that cites people familiar with the latest developments. The company is reportedly planning to bring body temperature measurement to the Apple Watch as well, so it makes sense for Apple to experiment with adding the feature to another class of wearable devices. The aforementioned health features are not expected to arrive before 2022 on AirPods, and the plans may also be nixed altogether.
Apple Doubling Down On Wearable Health Capabilities
Another impressive AirPods feature thats said to be in development is body posture assessment. The company will reportedly rely on readings from the motion sensors fitted inside AirPods to alert users when they are slouching in a bid to help fix their body posture. Apple already equips the AirPods Pro with motion-detecting accelerometers, which means the company already has the necessary ingredients to make posture detection a reality on AirPods.
The final feature that Apple is reportedly exploring is the ability for AirPods to double as a hearing aid device. Just like the motion sensors on AirPods Pro, Apple already offers a feature called Conversation Boost that raises the volume of the person in front of the wearer and is designed to help people with mild hearing impairments more clearly hear conversations. However, it is unclear how the rumored hearing-aid feature for the upcoming AirPods will differ from Conversation Boost.
Source: WSJ