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AirPods – Apple's truly wireless stereo headphones — will purportedly get support for health-related functions like as hearing monitoring and body temperature tracking, while the AirPods Pro will be positioned as a hearing aid. Users of the popular wireless headphones can already capture audiograms using third-party apps, and the Apple Watch Series 8 and Watch Ultra include rudimentary temperature tracking. However, new AirPods and AirPods Pro versions are not likely to be released in the near future by the Cupertino business.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports in his monthly Power On email that Apple is working on adding "major" health features to AirPods, including a test to determine how well the wearer can hear noises. Third-party applications currently allow users to build an audiogram using AirPods Pro, implying that Apple's future ear health monitoring capability may render apps like Mimi useless once it is released. Gurman also claims that Apple is aiming to market AirPods as a hearing aid, over a year after the FDA approved over-the-counter hearing aid sales.
Apple debuted the Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra with temperature sensor capability last year. While these timepieces are exclusively used for fertility tracking, the business is working on adding sensors to AirPods so that the wearer's body temperature may be monitored through the ear canal, according to Gurman. This may be used to alert users ahead of time if they are about to become unwell, he adds, adding that these health features are "several months or even years away."
Apple is rumoured to be working on switching the AirPods and AirPods Pro to a USB Type-C connector, similar to the iPhone 15 series of devices. Gurman advises that Apple consider lowering the price of the AirPods (2nd Gen) introduced in 2019 from $129 (about Rs. 10,600) to $99 (approximately Rs. 8,100) in order to compete with cheaper products from competitors.
TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said earlier this year that Apple will release a version of the AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) with a USB Type-C connector in Q3 2023. Apple has already fitted the contemporary port to various gadgets, including latest iPad models and the Siri Remote for the Apple TV. It should be noted that the first-generation AirPods Pro, which were updated with a MagSafe-compatible charging case, required buyers to purchase a new set of headphones in addition to the charging case.