Future AirPods Might Be Able to Measure Body Temperature

Somewhere along the way, headphones for your smartphone became essential companions, whether listening to music or podcasts or making phone calls and sitting in on meetings. Advances in technology have made smaller wireless earbuds a popular option for many, with Apple’s AirPods becoming a ubiquitous feature in offices and style photography alike.

Wireless earbuds no longer feel like a step down when it comes to audio quality, and it’s not uncommon to see people walking around with their AirPods (or another type of wireless earbud) nestled securely in their ears. It’s enough to make you wonder what the next generation of earbuds might involve — and now, via Mark Gurman’s newsletter Power On, we have idea of where the tech might be going.

Here’s a hint: it might involve measuring the temperature of the person wearing it. According to Gurman, the company is “exploring major new hearing health and body-temperature features,” among a number of other potential upgrades and product integrations. The Apple Watch’s ability to monitor a wearer’s heartbeat would be the overall model for the former, Gurman writes, with Apple also looking to expand the AirPod’s abilities as a hearing aid.

Review: Apple’s Airpods Pro 2 Look Unchanged But Sound Better Than Ever

Small changes make these great earbuds even better

As Engadget notes in their report on AirPods’ future, these health-centric advances are still a long way off from being incorporated into the earbuds in question. Still, the idea of being able to test one’s hearing or see if you’re running a temperature certainly sounds like an attractive proposition for a lot of people.