AirPods Pro’s long-promised heart-rate monitoring could be one step closer – but don’t wait up for it

• A new report claims AirPods with heart-rate monitoring are coming
• 'Sensors to measure other health data' are also predicted
• Ultra 3 watch and new Series models could also offer high blood pressure detection

A January 12 report claims Apple could be much closer to delivering pulse readings in AirPods, something that has been predicted by tipsters and analysts alike since early 2022.

The tidbit (and it really is a tidbit) in Mark Gurman's latest Power On missive states: "Apple is planning a revamped health app – as well as an AI-based coaching service – and added capabilities for AirPods. That includes heart-rate monitoring and sensors to measure other health data."

Gurman also claims that Apple's unannounced Ultra 3 watch and new Series models will likely offer high blood pressure detection. However, despite affirming that Ultra 3 "will get satellite connectivity and 5G RedCap network access" as Apple works with partner Globalstar Inc. to boost its satellite service, it's not wholly clear how these extra health features will be implemented – in either AirPods or Apple's smartwatch lineup. Our guess (and it is just an educated guess) is that Apple might seek to hone the accuracy of blood pressure readings from the Ultra 3 with encrypted, cloud-based analysis, but it's a working hypothesis.

AirPods didn't do it first, so they'll have to do it best…

The idea of earbuds that can take your ticker isn't new, but it's certainly proved elusive. Back in June 2022, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro initially boasted the ability to take your temperature but didn't get the desired medical backing in the EU and UK to support the perk. Then in July of that same year, after much speculation over the then-unreleased top-tier Apple AirPods support (or lack thereof) for temperature sensing and perhaps a heart-rate monitor, neither did the September 2022 flagship AirPods which we now call the AirPods Pro 2.

It's possible that Apple simply didn't get around to adding heart-rate monitoring in AirPods Pro 2. The feature appeared in the first Apple Watch, but of course, that wearable sits on your wrist (an ideal spot for such readings) while AirPods are much smaller and only have so much room for sensors. But it's not that it can't be done in earbuds. In fact, the humble Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 I tried shortly after the furor surrounding the Honor/Apple temperature-sensor race (released in early October 2022 and to very little fanfare) were the first buds to come bearing a proper ticker-taker – but the feature was worded as "stress monitoring", rather than an out-and-out reading of your pulse.

Why label it so? Probably because (not to get too dramatic here, but) a pulse is a life-or-death issue. The existence of a heartbeat in humans is a sure sign of life – and its regularity and strength a key health indicator. Governing health bodies are likely taking this matter as seriously as it deserves, and unless a method that ensures reliable accuracy is found, it'll be tough for earbuds to gain full approval as heart-rate monitoring devices in certain markets. Take Apple's Hearing Aid Feature for example: the US gets the full-fat version thanks to FDA approval; the UK currently only supports AirPods Pro 2's hearing tests rather than the full complement.

It's a clever idea from Anker to make it about stress and still offer the feature, with our heart at the helm. Obviously, our pulse increases when we're stressed because the brain releases hormones (hello adrenaline; hi cortisol) to make our hearts beat faster, to prepare us to run from a perceived threat.

Finding the best way to our hearts

Interestingly, Google is working with a different solution to offer heart-rate tracking in future earbuds, called audioplethysmography (or APG, because that really does need to be shortened). It works by sending a “low-intensity ultrasound probing signal” through the speakers, which then bounces around in the ear canal. The echoes sent back are received by onboard feedback microphones, which crucially are influenced by “tiny ear canal skin displacement and heartbeat vibrations” to monitor your heart rate – but since we reported on this in October 2023 and it hasn't yet made it to market, that's no quick fix either.

Of course, plenty of the best smartwatches can take your heart rate, so putting it into your earbuds may seem a trifling issue. But as mentioned earlier, watch sits very close to your pulse to provide a reading and is typically more of an investment than a set of earbuds. Our pick of the bunch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, comes in at $799 / £799 / AU$1,399.

Meanwhile, AirPods Pro 3's big bet this year is health-tracking, but if this as-yet-unannounced iteration arrives with a price tag similar to AirPods Pro 2's $249 / £249 / AU$399, and with a heart-rate monitor, customers may seek to get the health answers they want without handing over quite so much cash to Apple. And so, while I truly hope it does happen, I'm glad the powers that be are seemingly treading with caution.

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