Zak Khan / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple is prepping a new heart rate tracking feature for its earbuds that could debut with the AirPods Pro 3 next year.
- Code spotted in the latest iOS 18 release reveals that the feature will track users’ heart rate while they’re wearing both earbuds and send the results to the Health app.
- Sources familiar with Apple’s plans say that the feature may also be available on the next-gen Powerbeats Pro earbuds.
Apple seems keen on turning its flagship wireless earbuds into a health and fitness wearable. The company recently introduced three new hearing-related health features for the AirPods Pro 2, and it’s reportedly prepping more such features for the next-gen model.
Apple released the iOS 18 Release Candidate build alongside the iPhone 16 series launch yesterday. 9to5Mac has spotted new code in the update suggesting that the company could add heart rate tracking capabilities to its earbuds. The code states, “Wear both earbuds during workouts to track and send your heart rate to Apple Health. Manage in Bluetooth settings.”
The publication adds that the feature might debut with the AirPods Pro 3, but it won’t be the only earbuds to feature this new functionality. Sources familiar with Apple’s plans claim that the company may also offer the feature on the next-gen Powerbeats Pro. Both earbuds will likely arrive sometime next year.
It’s not immediately clear if Apple plans to equip its next-gen earbuds with a heart rate sensor or use software magic to enable heart rate tracking. Google has previously demonstrated that any ANC earbuds can track your heart rate using a technique called audioplethysmography (APG), and Apple could utilize a similar solution to enable the feature on its earbuds.
APG uses the speakers in ANC earbuds to send low-intensity ultrasound probing signals into the users’ ear canals and analyzes the echos captured by the onboard microphones to deliver a heart rate reading. In its eight-month-long field study, Google found that this technique offers a high level of accuracy without having a significant impact on battery life.
If Apple utilizes a similar technique instead of relying on a dedicated heart rate sensor, it will allow the company to offer heart rate tracking on older AirPods Pro models and the new AirPods 4 with ANC. Since we’re still many months away from the AirPods Pro 3 launch, though, it’s too early to say how things may shape up.
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