Apple AirPods New Features: Patent Details Fitness Tracking Abilities
Apple already has wireless earphones out called AirPods, but a new patent may point to the future advancements of the accessory.
According to Patently Apple, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has already awarded Apple with three new patents, including one that would give AirPods biometric sensors for fitness tracking.
The Cupertino-based technology company filed the patent which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published earlier this year. According to their patent, future AirPods could come equipped with biometric sensors, with at least one of them pressed against the ear's tragus. This will enable the sensors to collect biometric measurements like heart rates and such.
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Apple is not restricting its technology to just heart rate monitors, though. The company is also looking to incorporate EKG sensors into the AirPods, which will allow for the observation of electrical activity in the user's heart, among other things.
The development is certainly very exciting, especially for fitness buffs and health enthusiasts. Integrating biometric and EKG sensors into future AirPods would mean that people can monitor their health with one easy move. They can also check their body's oxygen usage during exercise.
Other biometric sensors that may come with the AirPods are a VO2 sensor, a galvanic skin response sensor, an impedance cardiography sensor and even a temperature sensor.
Apart from that, Apple is also planning to put a noise cancellation feature within the AirPods for those who prefer to ignore the outside world completely when listening to music or watching a movie. The noise cancellation could be done through the use of one or more microphones.
Apple is also looking to make the AirPods identical or physically symmetric. Earphones are usually different, with one specifically fitting the left ear and the other the right ear. However, with the patent, Apple aims to make the AirPods interchangeable.
