In a pretty interesting post on Secret, which lets users post messages anonymously, it seems that Apple’s future EarPods could feature biometric sensors in them, transforming them from being mere headphones into a device that can not only pipe music into your ears, but also measure things like your heart rate and blood pressure at the same time.
According to the poster, “Apple’s new EarPods will have sensors in them, for heart rate and blood pressure. Also iBeacons so they don’t get lost. They will require the lightning port, it’s why the audio jack was moved to the bottom.” Like we said these are pretty wild claims because it really does sound too good to be true.
Now before you ask why bother with such a wild rumor, we should note that this is not the first time we’ve heard/seen Apple’s plans for a more advanced pair of headphones. In the past Apple has patented headphones with similar designs. According to a patent filed back in 2007, “In one embodiment, the present invention can include headsets having one or more integrated physiological sensors. The headsets can be, for example, headphones for receiving audio signals from a media device or headsets for communication with cellular telephones.”
Another patent describes the diagram above in which the EarPod is able to collect biometric data, including perspiration levels and heart rate. One of the reasons why Apple has looked into EarPods as being possible heart rate monitors is because such monitors are usually the most accurate at the extremities, such as fingertips, earlobes, and so on. However patents are just patents and there’s no way of telling if Apple will ever make it a reality, but with all the rumors that Apple could be shifting their focus to health, it wouldn’t be a complete stretch of the imagination.
Filed in . Read more about Apple, Audio, Patent and Wearable Tech.