Apple’s next version of AirPods Pro 2 equipped with USB-C is expected to be available in the next fall, a report says and could assist users in diagnosing hearing problems as well.
Apple is believed to be in the process of developing an upgraded version of AirPods Pro that could arrive within a few months. The model is believed to utilize the USB-C port for its wireless charging device, instead of Lightning however there is a possibility that it might finally launch this fall.
As per Mark Gurman’s “Power On” newsletter for Bloomberg, the AirPods Pro 2 is set to be launched in the fall around the same date as the iPhone 15.
While USB-C is a fantastic feature to add for Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, Apple might add a different one into the collection.
Gurman says that the brand-new listening test function will use “different tones and sounds” in order for the AirPods to determine the degree to which a person is able to hear. “The concept is to assist users to screen for hearing problems, which is not like it is that the Apple Watch ECG app checks for heart issues,” he writes.
Although the feature might be the most quick of its kind Apple might have additional health-related concerns in the mind. Gurman believes that Apple wants to include additional health sensors to AirPods which include the ability to monitor body temperature inside the ear.
Patents and Applications
Applications and patents for patents have indicated Apple creating sensors that can be biometrically scanned in an AirPods package, utilizing the ear as well as an earphone and a photograph plethysmograph (PPG) sensor that can track the heart rate and measure blood flow through the skin of the ear. There are also suggestions for things like an electrocardiogram-based sensor, impedance cardiovascular skin response, and galvanic as well as VO2 sensing thermometers that are included in the device, in patent filings that date back to 2017.
Certain patents that date as far back to 2014 show Apple was considering keeping track of heart rates, temperatures, and sweating of a user, and the company has considered the issue for long time. In 2018other patents indicated Apple making a more secure design for the AirPods to ensure that sensors can be more in contact with skin.
In terms of hearing health, Apple does already provide several features, including Live Listen to help improve the user’s hearing by capturing audio coming from an iPhone. Additionally, the Conversation Boost included in AirPods Pro is an assistive technology to allow users to hear conversations happening around them.
For at present the moment, none of these features are approved by FDA and are not an alternative for hearing aids although some have suggested the idea that AirPods could be an inexpensive first step in acceptance of the need for hearing aids. But, Apple is believed to be working on making these benefits and others similar to those they come up with more “official” later on in the near future.
