After the Apple Watch, a true benchmark for health smartwatches, Apple seems determined to make its AirPods new wellness allies. The AirPods 4 have just gained active noise reduction, the AirPods Pro 2 are becoming hearing aids, and now the next models could actually monitor your heart.
iOS 18 code reveals a lot about Apple’s ambitions
It was a small line of code in the latest iOS 18 beta that tipped the tide. It reads: “Wear both earbuds during workouts to track your heart rate and send it to the Health app. Manage this in Bluetooth settings.”
There’s no doubt that Apple engineers are working on AirPods capable of measuring heart rate. According to sources close to the brand’s plans, this function would debut with the AirPods Pro 3 expected in 2025. But they wouldn’t be the only ones, since the future Powerbeats Pro, also planned for next year, would also benefit from it.
Health, Apple’s new leitmotif
This development is not surprising. For several years, Apple has been multiplying initiatives in the field of health and well-being. The Apple Watch is the most striking example, with its ever more sophisticated sensors (ECG, oximeter, thermometer, etc.) and its sleep tracking, physical activity and stress management functions.
But this philosophy is gradually extending to the brand’s entire ecosystem. In addition to AirPods and their hearing aid or heart monitoring functions, we are also thinking about the iPhone and its vision sensors that could soon detect eye problems, or even screen time features closely linked to personal health.
Technology at the service of prevention
Apple’s goal is clear: to make its products real daily health companions, capable not only of monitoring certain key parameters, but also of detecting potential problems early. A way of putting technology at the service of prevention and well-being, in addition to traditional medical monitoring.
For the AirPods Pro, adding heart rate measurement seems like a natural evolution. In addition, it would be a great way for Apple to differentiate its AirPods 4 and the high-end AirPods Pro, which now share a lot of features. The question remains how Apple plans to integrate heart monitoring: via a dedicated sensor like on the Apple Watch, or via a software solution based on microphones and speakers, as Google has demonstrated? The answer will be in 2025, with a new generation of headphones that may no longer be entirely listening devices.