HIGHLIGHTS
* Apple is reportedly working on AirPods with health features.
* According to Mark Gurman, Apple is working on AirPods with hearing health and body temperature monitoring.
* Apple is also reportedly planning to position AirPods Pro as a hearing aid.
* AirPods will reportedly gain new health features in the future.
* Apple is also expected to drop the Lightning port on its audio devices.
* Apple is working on a new hearing test feature to check how well a user can hear.
* Apple AirPods will play different tones and sounds to “screen” users for hearing issues.
* The improved hearing test could make existing apps like Mimi irrelevant.
Apple is exploring new hearing health and body-temperature features on AirPods wireless earbuds.
According to Apple analyst and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the next AirPods may also feature a Type-C port for charging, as the company is transitioning away from its proprietary Lightning port on iPads and soon iPhones.
Gurman, in his latest Power On newsletter edition, states that the next AirPods might launch in 2024, while the AirPods Pro 3 could debut in 2025 if we go by Apple’s three-year upgrade cycle for AirPods.
The next AirPods may include more sensors for better connectivity with the Apple Vision Pro headset.
The newsletter highlights that Apple is working on a new hearing test feature to check how well a user can hear.
The earbuds will play different tones and sounds to “screen” users for hearing issues, not unlike how the Apple Watch ECG app checks for heart problems.
Gurman adds the improved hearing test could “Sherlock — or make irrelevant — existing apps like Mimi.”
Similarly, Apple is exploring the idea of positioning the AirPods as hearing aids; however, restrictions include regulatory approval.
The company has added hearing-aid-like features, such as Conversation Boost and Live Listen, but cannot claim that these would help users hear better.
It could change soon as the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) eased hearing aid purchase rules. This may also have consequent effects in India.
Secondly, the next AirPods may more accurately measure body temperature than an Apple Watch. The newsletter reads, “There’s also engineering work being done on adding sensors to the AirPods so they can determine body temperature via a wearer’s ear canal.
That type of data is considered more accurate than wrist temperature, which is collected on the Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra models while users sleep.”
Apple has been rumoured to be working on this feature for a while. Old leaks claim that future AirPods may even track heart rate.
Meanwhile, Apple announced a new feature for AirPods Pro 2 at the WWDC 2023 last month. The company will roll out “Adaptive Audio,” which leverages active noise cancellation and transparency modes.
Apple explains that “Adaptive Audio” automatically switches between audio modes depending on the “changing environments and interactions throughout the day.”
It means if you’re in a noisy environment, the AirPods Pro go into ANC mode, but if a person is calling you or a car is passing by while crossing the road, the earbuds will go into transparency mode so that you’re aware of the surrounding.
The feature is expected to roll out in September or October.
According to the latest report, Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro might come with several health features.
In his weekly newsletter Power On, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has claimed that the Cupertino-based tech giant will launch AirPods models with hearing health monitoring like audiograms and body temperature sensing.
Gurman also claims that Apple plans to position the future Apple AirPods Pro as hearing aids.
However, considering Apple refreshes AirPods every three years, Apple is still a couple of years away from launching next-gen AirPods.
Let’s take a look at the latest report and expected AirPods features.
AirPods — Apple’s truly wireless stereo earphones — will reportedly gain support for health-related features that will allow users to monitor their hearing and keep track of their body temperature, while the company plans to position the AirPods Pro as a hearing aid.
The popular wireless earphones already allow users to take audiograms using third party apps, while the Apple Watch Series 8 and Watch Ultra with rudimentary temperature monitoring.
However, the Cupertino company is not expected to release new AirPods and AirPods Pro models in the near future.
In his weekly Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman states that Apple is working on adding “major” health features to AirPods that will include a test to check how well the wearer can hear sounds.
Third-party apps already allow users to generate an audiogram using AirPods Pro, which suggests that Apple’s upcoming ear health monitoring feature could make apps like Mimi obsolete once it is introduced.
Gurman also states that Apple is planning to position AirPods as a hearing aid, nearly a year after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed over-the-counter hearing aid sales.
Last year, Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra with support for temperature sensing.
While these smartwatches is only used for fertility tracking, the company is working to add sensors to AirPods to add the ability to monitor the wearer’s body temperature via the ear canal, according to Gurman.
This could be used to warn users in advance that they might be falling ill, he says, adding that these health features are “several months or even years away.”
Like the iPhone 15 series of smartphones, Apple is said to be working on upgrading the AirPods and AirPods Pro to a USB Type-C port.
Gurman suggests that Apple could consider slashing the cost of the AirPods (2nd Gen) that were released in 2019 from $129 (roughly Rs. 10,600) to $99 (roughly Rs. 8,100) to better compete with cheaper offerings from rivals.
Earlier this year, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple would launch a version of the AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) with a USB Type-C port in Q3 2023.
Apple has already equipped several devices with the modern port, including recent iPad models and the Siri Remote for the Apple TV.
It is worth noting that the first-generation AirPods Pro which were refreshed with a MagSafe-compatible charging case, required customers to buy a fresh pair of earphones along with the charging case.
Apple AirPods Reportedly Gets Major Health Features
Mark Gurman has revealed that Apple has major plans to include health features in its next AirPods and AirPods Pro.
According to his weekly Power On newsletter, Apple will launch the next-gen AirPods and AirPods Pro with hearing health features like a test to generate an audiogram using tones and sounds.
This will help the user determine how well they hear sounds.
Notably, there are third-party apps like Mimi, which help users generate audiograms using their AirPods Pro.
Once Apple integrates the feature in AirPods, users won’t need these third-party apps anymore.
Additionally, Apple plans to integrate body temperature measuring in the next generation of AirPods.
This helpful feature will detect internal body temperature through the ear canal and warn users ahead of falling sick.
Apple has already introduced body temperature monitoring through Apple Watch Series 8 and Watch Ultra.
However, it works through wrist skin and only while the user sleeps.
New sensors to detect body temperature inside the ear canal are likely to be more effective.
Gurman also claims that Apple will shift to USB Type-C charging port on future audio products, including the next-gen AirPods.
However, Apple usually follows a 3-year timeline for updating its AirPods lineup.
Since AirPods 3rd gen was launched in 2021 and AirPods Pro 2nd gen in 2022, there is still some time to go before next-gen AirPods are here.
At WWDC earlier this month, Apple announced several new features coming to AirPods.
These include a mute switch for calls, improved device switching, and more.
Faqs
1) USB-C AirPods Pro coming alongside iPhone 15, hearing test feature in development.Details?
Ans) As reported by Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, Apple is preparing to launch a USB-C case for the AirPods Pro, presumably alongside the launch of the iPhone 15 lineup lineup this fall which will switch from the Lightning port to the USB-C port.
Gurman says Apple is also testing a new hearing test feature, in addition to the other iOS 17 AirPods features Apple announced at WWDC.
The hearing test feature will reportedly play different tones in the user’s ear. Based on the user responses, it will be able to screen for possible hearing issues.
The company is working on a new hearing test feature that will play different tones and sounds to allow the AirPods to determine how well a person can hear. The idea is to help users screen for hearing issues, not unlike how the Apple Watch ECG app checks for heart problems.
Longer term, Gurman says Apple is working on adding additional health sensors to AirPods hardware, such as body temperature via the ear canal.
Apple previously announced that AirPods Pro would gain an Adaptive Audio feature later this year, which dynamically switches between Transparency and Noise Cancelling mode depending on the audio of the environment.
2) Apple’s next AirPods Pro could feature a built-in temperature sensor.Details?
Ans) In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple is working on new health features for its line of audio products. The first of those would allow your AirPods to conduct a hearing test. As The Verge notes, AirPods already support audiogram profiles, which iOS can use to tune the output of the earbuds to adjust for hearing loss.
Right now, you can generate those profiles through third-party apps like Mimi, so if Apple were to move forward with its own test, it would be another instance of the company “Sherlocking” a feature from a third-party developer.
Separately, Gurman writes Apple is exploring how to position and market the AirPods Pro as a hearing aid after the FDA made it easier for Americans to buy over-the-counter options last year. He reports the company recently hired engineers with experience working on traditional hearing aids as part of that initiative.
The other new AirPods feature Apple is working on is a way for the earbuds to measure your body temperature. A built-in temperature sensor was one of the features the company introduced with the Watch Series 8 and Watch Ultra. As for why Apple would replicate a feature already found on one of its existing products, a sensor can get a more accurate temperature reading from the ear canal than the wrist.
Gurman warns both features are “several months or even years away.” In the more immediate future, he reports Apple plans to refresh the AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case, adding that all of the company’s audio products will eventually move away from Lighting as well.
All of that is part of a move Apple must make to comply with the EU’s new common charging standard. “Despite the USB-C shift, I wouldn’t anticipate the imminent launch of all-new AirPods Pro hardware,” Gurman notes, pointing to the fact Apple only just refreshed the earbuds last year.
Before then, AirPods users can at least look forward to the new software features Apple said it would introduce alongside iOS 17. Those include a new button press to mute yourself on calls and improvements to device switching.
Gurman speculates Apple could also permanently lower the price of its second-generation AirPods to $99, down from $129, to make them more competitive against low-cost options from Samsung, Sony and Amazon.
Also Read: Apple AirPods Pro with USB Type-C Port Charging Case Tipped to Launch Later this Year: Ming-Chi Kuo