Apple is gearing up to introduce a new generation of AirPods this fall that will finally come with USB-C and some health features. Mark Gurman, who recently revealed all the details of the Vision Pro, is back at it with rumors of a new AirPods Pro.
in your newsletter power, Gurman suggested that the AirPods Pro will be announced alongside the iPhone 15 and swap out the Lightning charging port for a USB-C port. The new iPhone will also be USB-C, and among other things the European Commission has forced Apple to adopt a universal port.
In terms of health features, Gurman said Apple has implemented a hearing test that plays different tones into the user’s ear and based on the responses they give, can detect possible hearing loss.
Instead of determining how well you’re hearing, AirPods can help detect hearing problems to refer to a professional, just as the EKG app on the Apple Watch detects possible fibrillations, but suggests a trip to the doctor instead of confirming them.
Gurman said Apple is working on new health-related hardware sensors for AirPods. Rumor has it that one of these sensors Measures body temperature through the ear canal, but it doesn’t seem ready for this generation.
Although a successor to the third-generation AirPods isn’t expected this year, Apple is making cheaper models of headphones.
For the rest, the new generation of AirPods will benefit from everything What’s New in iOS 17. The main innovation is Adaptive Audio, a noise cancellation feature that changes depending on the environment. It has two other auxiliary functions: a custom module, which uses machine learning to calibrate the audio based on your preferences; and speech detection, which automatically lowers the volume, reduces background noise and highlights the voices of your interlocutors when they speak to you.
With iOS 17, it’s also faster to switch between devices (as long as they’re both Apple devices), or turn the microphone on and off by pressing the stem of one of the two earbuds during a call.
