Gurman: AirPods to Gain Hearing Health Features Over the Next Two Years

Apple's AirPods could gain more prominent hearing health features in the next year or two, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Apple's Conversation Boost feature on the AirPods Pro.

In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that he believes Apple will "upgrade the AirPods to become a health tool in the next year or two," adding "the ability to get hearing data of some sort."

Apple has already added several hearing-focused features to the AirPods in recent years such as Live Listen and Conversation Boost, but Gurman noted that such features are not yet FDA approved or designed to serve as a hearing aid replacement. Given Apple's health objectives, he expects AirPods to take on these sorts of functions "more officially" in the near future.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously highlighted the company's intention to add biometric health monitoring capabilities to future AirPods models, such as heart-rate sensing.

Apple patent filings describe an earbud-based fitness monitoring system that integrates an advanced biometric sensor to detect physiological metrics including temperature, heart rate, perspiration levels and more, through skin contact and via built-in motion sensors.

More to follow...

Related Roundups: AirPods 3, AirPods Pro

Tags: Bloomberg, Mark Gurman

Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Neutral), AirPods Pro (Buy Now)

Related Forum: AirPods

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