Apple’s AirPods are set to become even more advanced, with hearing health features on the horizon, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This upgrade could arrive in the next year or two.
New Hearing Health Features Coming to AirPods in the Next Two Years
In his recent newsletter, Power On, Gurman suggested that Apple will soon be “upgrading the AirPods to become a health tool” in the next couple of years. This would involve giving users “the ability to get hearing data of some sort.” Apple has already taken steps in the hearing-focused direction, such as adding Live Listen and Conversation Boost to their AirPods.
However, Gurman pointed out that these features are not yet approved by the FDA and cannot be used as a hearing aid replacement. Based on the company’s health goals, Gurman believes that AirPods will soon be able to perform these tasks more officially.
Apple is looking to health-ify their AirPods with biometric sensors, motion detectors, and temperature monitors to detect your heart rate, perspiration, and more. Vice President of Technology, Kevin Lynch, has even hinted at more health data to come. And you don’t need to wait for new AirPods models to get the new features, current ones have the speakers and mics to support them, and can be updated with a firmware update.
Apple’s AirPods line-up is not expected to be refreshed until next year, according to reputed Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo. Mass shipments of the next gen AirPods are likely to begin in either H2 2024 or H1 2025.