No need to think about putting the Apple Watch on your wrist before going for a run to track your sports activity. Now you just need to slip earphones into your ears, which is even more natural than wearing a connected watch! At least it works with Powerbeats Pro 2, the first from Apple and Beats to have a heart rate sensor (one in each earphone).
Apple has chosen to favor Beats to launch this function, but it is true that the Powerbeats Pro were first designed for sportsmen and athletes, much more than AirPods. But the sensor will eventually arrive in earphones "made in Apple". Mark Gurman is calming the ardor, however: according to the Bloomberg leaker, 3rd-generation AirPods Pro equipped with a heart rate monitor will not arrive for "many months." These new models could be launched by the end of the year.
Matthew Costello, vice president of hardware engineering, obviously does not confirm that the next version of the AirPods Pro will include such a sensor. However, he makes it pretty clear: “We’re excited to bring this health-focused technology to Powerbeats Pro, and we think it’s a real direction to explore for the future,” he tells TechRadar.
The sensor in question is derived from the one in the Apple Watch, only even smaller: it’s just 1/16th the size of the sensor in the Apple Watch Series 10. It still contains a LED, a photodiode, an optical lens and an accelerometer. Both must be worn to activate the heart rate measurement. More precisely, a measurement is taken in each ear, and the algorithms analyze both to provide a figure; the result is updated every five seconds.
Apple has conducted tests with 1,000 athletes to ensure the reliability of the measurements. Be careful, if you wear the Apple Watch, it is the watch sensor that takes over, and there is no setting to modify this behavior. Similarly, not all apps are compatible, including Strava… and Apple Fitness+. There is no doubt that support will accelerate.
0 Comments