Apple is the gift that keeps on giving. A new Apple patent lends the notion that the Cupertino-based company is developing software to optimize your AirPods for working out.
New Apple Patent Describes Fitness Tracking for AirPods
It’s no secret over the years Apple has been enhancing their technology to be fitness-friendly. The iOS 8 update added a health app to all iPhones and while iOS 10 allowed us to delete any apps you don’t normally use, the Health app stays put. The Apple Watch is already a health and fitness tracker – monitoring your steps and activities throughout the day. Looks like soon your Apple AirPods will be able to do so too.
The new Apple patent, titled “Earbuds With Biometric Sensing,” describes the new features via the abstract as:
This application relates to earbuds configured with one or more biometric sensors. At least one of the biometric sensors is configured to be pressed up against a portion of the tragus for making biometric measurements. In some embodiments, the housing of the earbud can be symmetric so that the earbud can be worn interchangeably in either a left or a right ear of a user. In such an embodiment, the earbud can include a sensor and circuitry configured to determine and alter operation of the earbud in accordance to which ear the earbud is determined to be positioned within.
Basically (and possibly), Airpods will be equipped with a heart rate sensor, a VO2 sensor, a GSR (galvanic skin response) sensor, an electrocardiogram (EKG) sensor, an impedance cardiography (ICG) sensor and a temperature sensor. Wow! IMHO, if these features come to fruition Apple AirPods will definitely be in high demand despite the previous hiccups during their initial launch in late 2016.
