Leaked: future AirPods will be able to measure heart rate and detect heart disease

Apple wants to expand the functionality of its headphones and add the ability to monitor heart health.

Details

Previously, 9to5Mac found mention in the iOS 18 beta that future AirPods will be able to measure heart rate. ""Wear both earbuds during workouts to track and send your heart rate to Apple Health"," one of the lines reads.

According to sources, the feature will be implemented next year in AirPods Pro 3 and the next generation of Powerbeats Pro.

And Apple's new patent application indicates that the ability to measure heart rate could also be used to detect various diseases. The main tool for this will be microphones inside the headphones. They will be able to "listen" to heart activity and detect various pathologies. These include blood vessel diseases (coronary heart disease), heart rhythm problems (arrhythmia), heart defects, heart valve diseases, heart muscle diseases, etc.

At the most basic level, bradycardia (abnormally low heart rate) and tachycardia (abnormally high heart rate) can be detected. But more sophisticated detection can also be achieved.

Source: 9to5Mac