AirPods Pro 3 Expected to Launch This Year With Key New Feature

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects Apple to release new AirPods Pro this year, and he said the earbuds will have a key new feature: heart rate monitoring.

AirPods Pro 3 Heart Rate Tracking Feature
From his Power On newsletter today, with emphasis added:

As for Apple's other devices, there's a lot in the fall pipeline — though many of the new products are only incremental upgrades.

There will be Apple Watch updates, faster Vision Pro headsets and iPad Pros with the M5 processor. You should also expect new AirPods Pro earbuds (I reported earlier this year that Apple is working on a pair with heart-rate monitoring), as well as HomePod minis and Apple TV set-top boxes.

Apple already introduced a heart rate monitoring feature on the Powerbeats Pro 2 earlier this year.

When both Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds are placed in the ears, and heart rate monitoring is active, Apple says LED optical sensors pulse at over 100 times per second to measure heart rate via blood flow. The feature integrates with popular fitness apps to collect data during workouts and sync it to Apple's Health app on the iPhone.

The feature is based on the Apple Watch's heart rate sensing technology. If someone is wearing both Powerbeats Pro 2 and an Apple Watch, Apple says apps default to using Apple Watch heart rate data, and that will likely be the case for the new AirPods Pro too.

Beyond heart rate monitoring, it is likely that the next AirPods Pro will feature improved sound quality, increased active noise cancellation, design changes, and more.

The current AirPods Pro 2 launched in September 2022, and they were updated with a USB-C charging case and a few other tweaks in September 2023.

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Top Rated Comments

Rachid Vàzquez Avatar
2 weeks ago
What’s the point of heart rate sensor if you already own an Apple Watch?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BelgianChoklit Avatar
2 weeks ago
I don't know but this seems very gimmicky to me. What's next, satellite connectivity for the Apple Pencil Pro 2?
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCCL Avatar
2 weeks ago
Hopefully there are AirPods Pro without heart rate sensor. I buy earbuds to listen to music and other content. I couldn’t care less about having a heart features in earbuds.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
2 weeks ago
All I want from AirPods Pro 3 is better sound quality as they are headphones, I don’t need heart rate check, give them lossless support
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LIVEFRMNYC Avatar
2 weeks ago
How much battery is HR sensor going to waste, and can we that feature off completely?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
2 weeks ago
Good, I need new AirPods and a new TV. But I’m not entirely confident Apple can get their s**t together to take my money.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)