Apple is reportedly working on AirPods that can check your temperature
Your Apple AirPods might one day be able to read your body temperature, enhance your hearing, and monitor your posture (as if we needed another reminder that we're slouching).
The company behind the iPhone and the wearable health and wellness gadget Apple Watch is reportedly studying ways to make its bluetooth AirPods into a health device of their own, reports The Wall Street Journal, according to related documents and individuals familiar with the plans.
What isn't clear is whether Apple is developing "specific new hearing-aid features for AirPods or wants to market the earbuds' existing hearing-improvement features as hearing aids," writes the Journal; such an expansion does, however, make clear the company's desire to add health and wellness features to devices other than the Apple Watch.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The company is reportedly already creating an AirPods prototype to take the wearer's core body temperature from inside their ear, per the documents reviewed by the Journal. And when it comes to posture monitoring, "the AirPods would lean on the motion sensors in the earbuds" and then alert users to stop slouching.
Notably, serving as a hearing aid could "signifcantly expand" AirPods' reach, and help the many individuals who suffer from hearing impairment that's less severe and thus left untreated, the Journal writes. The company's higher-end AirPods Pro already offer some hearing-improvement features.
Don't get your hopes up yet, however — the proposed changes and features have no concrete rollout timeline; in fact, those familiar with the plans warned there is a chance they may never be rolled out at all. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Amazon ending 'Just Walk Out' grocery checkout
Speed Read In its place, the company will let customers scan while they shop with Amazon Dash Cart
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suit
Speed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
House votes to force TikTok to sell or face US ban
speed read The House passed a bill to ban TikTok on national security grounds unless it sells to a non-Chinese company
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Apple kills its secret electric car project
Speed Read Many of the people from Project Titan are being reassigned to work on generative AI
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cellphone use may be lowering sperm count
Speed Read Electromagnetic radiation could be affecting male fertility
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Nasa reveals first findings from asteroid that could explain origins of life
Speed Read Sample from Bennu has been found to contain an abundance of water and carbon
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
NYPD to monitor Labor Day parties using surveillance drones
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Elon Musk announces change to Twitter logo
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published