Apple AirPods Could Feature Hearing Aid and Body Temperature Monitoring Capabilities: Details

According to reports, Apple, the tech giant headquartered in Cupertino, is said to be considering incorporating significant hearing health and body-temperature functionalities into its upcoming models of AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s upcoming AirPods Pro will have the ability to measure the user’s body temperature through the ear canal. In addition, they also include a new hearing health feature to detect potential hearing problems.

Gurman said the iPhone maker is working on a new hearing-testing feature that plays different sounds so the AirPods can determine how well a person can hear. The idea is to help users screen for hearing problems.

Apple is also planning cheaper models and a move to USB-C charging ports. The product also has connections to Vision Pro headphones next year. “The features come in addition to already announced software features that were part of iOS 17, as well as plans for new AirPods Pro and Max models,” Gurman said.

He said the iPhone maker is exploring how to better position AirPods as a hearing aid. The hearing aid market is worth around $10 billion a year. The company has already introduced hearing aid-like features such as Conversation Boost and Live Listen, but these features are still awaiting regulatory approval.

According to reports, the US Food and Drug Administration last year eased the rules for purchasing hearing aids, allowing over-the-counter sales without an examination or prescription. This has created more openness, and Apple has hired engineers from traditional hearing aid manufacturers as part of this effort.

According to Gurman, Apple is developing AirPods with sensors that measure body temperature through the user’s ear canal. This method is expected to provide more accurate readings compared to wrist temperature measurements taken during sleep on the Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra models.