14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is hard at work on finalizing the second-generation AirPods, and according to a new report, the unveiling could take place as soon as this year.
But the more interesting tidbit included in this Digitimes story is that the new AirPods may actually come with support for health monitoring features, though no specifics are provided.
The report claims several suppliers, including Zhen Ding Tech, Flexium Interconnect, Compeq Manufacturing, and Unitech Printed Circuit Board are involved in the development of the new AirPods.
Details are not available right now, and information on what exactly health monitoring means on the AirPods hasn’t been offered, but such news certainly isn’t surprising.
Apple all-in on health tracking
Apple is betting big on health tracking on its latest devices, and the Apple Watch is one particular example in this regard.
Apple Watch Series 4, for example, introduces an ECG feature that helps customers detect heart diseases, as well as other tools, including fall detection. Apple becoming more active in the fitness tracking market means increased competition for companies that are specifically focused on building activity trackers, such as Fitbit.
The success of the Apple Watch Series 4, and the excitement around its tracking features, has reportedly convinced Apple to invest more aggressively in this particular direction, therefore more future-generation devices are expected to be more or less focused on such capabilities.
However, in addition to the new health monitoring system coming to the AirPods, the new-generation wireless earbuds to be launched by Apple will also include a refined design, which the aforementioned source describes as “discrete.” Again, details in this regard are still sketchy at this point, but Digitimes says the unveiling should take place in the first half of the year.
Apple has obviously remained completely tight-lipped on everything regarding its future devices, so a certain amount of skepticism is recommended when reading all of these.