Apple markets Apple Watch as a health monitoring device. Now, The Wall Street Journal claims that the tech giant is working on introducing health sensors in future AirPods to monitor body temperature, enhance hearing, or more.
The new report corroborates DigiTimes’ claim that Apple is exploring new health features for next-generation AirPods which will be equipped with ambient light sensors, a semiconductor embedded in a substrate (SESUB) based SiP technology by ASE Technology, to measure blood oxygen levels, heart rate from the ear. It is further explained that the earbuds will work like ear clips used in hospitals to measure physiological conditions like perspiration levels, temperature, oxygen saturation, and more. Renowned tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also confirmed that Airpods with health features are in the development phase.
Future AirPods could be used as hearing aids
As per the report, Apple is studying the potential of AirPods as a health device to monitor users’ posture, enhance hearing, or measuring body temperature. The internal documents viewed by the publisher reveals the company’s plan to push health features beyond iPhone and Apple Watch to not only give users a useful product but also set its headphones apart from rivals’.
Apple Inc. is studying ways to make AirPods into a health device, including for enhancing hearing, reading body temperature and monitoring posture, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the plans.
The plans further demonstrate Apple’s ambition to add health and wellness features to devices beyond the Apple Watch, where most of the company’s health functions exist today.
Recently, Apple has introduced a new conversation boost feature in iOS 15 which is designed for users with slight hearing impairment to help them stay connected by amplifies the audio. Conversation boost is available on second-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max.
Previously, the publisher reported that Apple is working on a technology to diagnose depression, cognitive decline, dementia, autism, and other neurological disorders via iPhone. future iPhone’s camera and Apple Watch’s sensors will study users’ mannerisms or behavioral patterns for detection of an undiagnosed disorder like ECG app which detects undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AFib), a form of irregular heart rhythm. Similarly, paired with an iPhone, future AirPods might be able to feature health monitoring capabilities.
