August 17 – A new report shows that the Apple AirPods Pro 2 wireless headphones will have fitness tracking for the first time, thanks to updated motion sensors.
▲ AirPods
Last year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that the AirPods Pro 2 would come with updated motion sensors and a focus on fitness tracking. Previously, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple wants to add health and fitness features to the AirPods in the long term.
Notably, Apple was granted a patent for an in-ear fitness monitoring system that integrates advanced biometric sensors to detect physiological indicators, including temperature, heart rate, sweat levels and more, through skin contact and built-in motion sensors.
Little information is available on how the AirPods Pro 2 fitness tracking feature works, but it will likely be integrated with the Apple Watch Activity Circle. Apple’s iOS 16 system extends Activity Circles to all users, so even if they don’t have an Apple Watch, they can set daily activity goals and view active calories in the Fitness app. Users can also share their Activity Circles with friends for added motivation.
The iPhone motion sensor tracks steps, distance, meters climbed and workouts from third-party apps, which can be converted into a prediction of active calories and contribute to the user’s daily activity goals. Given Apple’s upcoming expansion of Activity Circles to all iPhones, it is now more likely that AirPods will be used to collect even more activity data, especially for users without an Apple Watch.
In addition to fitness tracking, AirPods Pro 2 is expected to feature the same design as the current model, a skin detection sensor instead of an IR sensor, a “significantly upgraded” wireless chip, support for Apple’s Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) playback, and an audible charging case for location tracking.
Apple AirPods Pro 2 will launch in the second half of 2022, according to numerous reports. Ming-Chi Kuo has narrowed down the launch of AirPods Pro 2 to Q4 2022, which runs from October to Q4 2022.
