With the launch of iOS 18 RC on Monday, 9to5Mac has found evidence to confirm that Apple has indeed been testing new health sensors in its wireless earbuds. Code corroborates rumors about a new generation of AirPods Pro coming next year with such sensors. 9to5Mac has also obtained more exclusive details from our sources.
New health sensor coming to Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 and next generation Powerbeats Pro
According to rumors, Apple has been working on a lot of health-related features for the next generation of AirPods Pro, which is expected to be announced in 2025. iOS 18.0 RC seems to confirm just that.
Code found in the latest beta refers to new wireless earbuds with a heart-rate sensor. “Wear both earbuds during workouts to track and send your heart rate to Apple Health. Manage in Bluetooth settings,” the string reads. The string is part of a system component that manages the setup of Apple’s wireless headphones, such as AirPods and Beats.
Although this is the only string found in the system, 9to5Mac’s sources (the same ones who confirmed precise details about the iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Series 10 last week) have just revealed more details about what to expect from this technology.
According to our reliable sources, AirPods Pro 3 won’t be the only earbuds to feature the new health sensor. Apple also has plans to add the same heart-rate sensor to the next generation of Powerbeats Pro.
The company has been teasing the launch of the Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025. While we can only see a new design in the first images, there’s a chance that these new earbuds will also feature a new health sensor to measure heart rate during workouts. Users will have the option to turn off the heart-rate sensor for privacy.
AirPods Pro 3 also coming next year
During its “It’s Glowtime” event earlier today, Apple unveiled the new AirPods 4 in two versions, one of which has active noise cancellation. However, updates for the AirPods Pro are not expected until 2025.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman previously reported that the new AirPods Pro 3 will get a new design and chip that will enable such health features.
It’s unclear whether Apple will unveil Powerbeats Pro 2 with new built-in health features before AirPods Pro 3, or whether the company will announce both earbuds at the same time next year.
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