[52audio] AirPods Pro 2 to have USB-C, an upgraded H1 chip, Find My, heart rate detection, & more

[Neoxon]

 

Summary

Set to release later this year, it's being reported by reputable leaker 52audio that the AirPods Pro 2 will feature an upgraded H1 chip, Find My support with speakers on the case to make finding your AirPods inside the case easier, heart rate detection within the earbuds themselves, & USB-C as the charging port on the case. While most of these have been reported by other sources for a while, the USB-C report is new.

 

Quote

Quote

Apple launched the first generation of AirPods in 2016. And then, Apple released the AirPods 2, AirPods Pro, and AirPods 3.Compared with traditional wired earphones, its convenient user experience and performance based on the wireless connection have been welcomed by many users, leading to the boom in TWS earphones.

Recently, 52audio got more information on the new Apple AirPods Pro 2. It brings many upgrades, including the upgraded SiP packaging system, the H1 chip, which supports self-adaptive active noise cancellation, and an improved "Find My" function. It also has new functions, like heart rate detection, hearing aid, USB-C port for better compatibility, and optimized fast charging.

 

My thoughts

Obviously Apple has to switch to USB-C by Fall 2024 as per the EU mandate, but there was some debate as to if they'd make the transition for the AirPods Pro this year or later given how long it took for this upgrade to happen (especially given that the original rumors said that the Pro 2 would have Lightning). But it seems like the AirPods Pro 2 will be the first in Apple's widespread transition to USB-C. And honestly, I might upgrade from the OG AirPods that my dad gave me when he upgraded to the first AirPods Pro.

 

Source

52audio

[WolframaticAlpha]

>heart rate detection

 

[Shreyas1]

1 hour ago, WolframaticAlpha said:

>heart rate detection

 

A lot of people wear AirPods while biking, jogging, etc. This way you don't need to get a smartwatch as well if you only want HR detection 

[Supreme Calamitas]

F Heart rate detection 

Focus on lowering the latency instead, If its ''Pro'' then I better be able to use it for professional things. which you can't, because of latency. Apple's M1 chips are great for video editing, so why aren't Airpods ''Pro'' following?

[dizmo]

It'll be interesting to see if they've improved on the sound quality. I still haven't found a BT pair that I consider acceptable. 

 

I can't wait for USB C iPhones. It's the second to last thing holding me back from buying one. I get the feeling they've been holding off switching just out of spite. 

 

42 minutes ago, Marko1600 said:

F Heart rate detection 

Focus on lowering the latency instead, If its ''Pro'' then I better be able to use it for professional things. which you can't, because of latency. Apple's M1 chips are great for video editing, so why aren't Airpods ''Pro'' following?

Please. The Pro moniker hasn't meant for professional use for many, many years when it comes to electronics. Using that as a slight against it makes absolutely no sense. 

[Brooksie359]

3 hours ago, Marko1600 said:

F Heart rate detection 

Focus on lowering the latency instead, If its ''Pro'' then I better be able to use it for professional things. which you can't, because of latency. Apple's M1 chips are great for video editing, so why aren't Airpods ''Pro'' following?

You realize that one of the biggest use cases for wireless headphones is for running and biking or even simply weight lifting as well. I would say the most common place I see people wearing air pods is at the gym so having a heart rate monitor seems like a good fit and most of the time people don't complain because of a feature that they don't personally use. 

[Zodiark1593]

Find My that isn’t useless? (for Airpods)

[StDragon]

I'm sure there will be an app setting where the BPM of your favorite workout songs increases with the heart rate.

[TetraSky]

9 hours ago, WolframaticAlpha said:

>heart rate detection

 

-snip-

Personally, I thoroughly dislike wearing a watch, it annoys me to no end. So if it could be built-in my earphones, I would like that for when I do my regular cardio workout to keep track of this stuff automatically without having to stand there with my finger on my neck for 15 seconds to then multiply that by 4 for an average bpm.

[Neoxon]

6 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Personally, I thoroughly dislike wearing a watch, it annoys me to no end. So if it could be built-in my earphones, I would like that for when I do my regular cardio workout to keep track of this stuff automatically without having to stand there with my finger on my neck for 15 seconds then multiply that by 4 for an average bpm.

It could also be good for a sleep tracking for the same reason. As Linus can attest to, the AirPods Pro can actually be slept while having them on.

[WolframaticAlpha]

4 hours ago, Brooksie359 said:

You realize that one of the biggest use cases for wireless headphones is for running and biking

Doing that with Airpods or any pair of iems is unsafe. I myself do not use headphones or earphones when I am cycling. imo the transparency mode is still not good enough to be a replacement for open backed headsets(ie the aftershokz). That's why I was skeptical of it being a heart rate tracker.

8 hours ago, Shreyas1 said:

A lot of people wear AirPods while biking, jogging, etc. This way you don't need to get a smartwatch as well if you only want HR detection 

Yeah, but it still seems a bit weird, especially coming from Apple. Though it can do some very good integration with fitness+, kinda like the "Are you exercising when your heart rate elevates or with apple music, where it can recommend you better music judging which gets your HR higher.

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

Personally, I thoroughly dislike wearing a watch, it annoys me to no end. So if it could be built-in my earphones, I would like that for when I do my regular cardio workout to keep track of this stuff automatically without having to stand there with my finger on my neck for 15 seconds to then multiply that by 4 for an average bpm.

Yeah, I hate wearing the watch on stupidly hot delhi evenings. That might be a good usecase.

[saltycaramel]

iPhone+watch users: 100-200M

iPhone_only users: 800-900M

 

Those 800-900M will get the health app for the first time in iOS16 and could integrate it with the heart rate monitoring of the new Airpods. 

 

Owning the watch is not the norm, far from it.

[Arika]

I read the title as it having "find my heart" and was very concerned about who Apple think their users are.

[captain_to_fire]

15 hours ago, Neoxon said:

heart rate detection within the earbuds themselves

Why? There's the Apple Watch for that.

[Dracarris]

13 hours ago, captain_to_fire said:

Why? There's the Apple Watch for that.

The idea of in-ear PPG is not new at all and their are more than enough use cases for it. Not everyone owns an Apple or smart/sports watch for starters. Together with the Apple watch it could serve as an additional data point for more accurate combined/correlated reading.

[Techstorm970]

5 hours ago, captain_to_fire said:

Why? There's the Apple Watch for that.

A new Apple Watch is more expensive than a new set of AirPods.  And both have functions the other doesn't.

[Stahlmann]

17 hours ago, dizmo said:

It'll be interesting to see if they've improved on the sound quality. I still haven't found a BT pair that I consider acceptable. 

If you're still looking have a look at the AKG N400. You'll have to import it from South Korea, but it's praised to be among the best wireless earphones in terms of just sound quality. (even praised by crinacle) You can get a set for around $100 USD.

[Neoxon]

14 hours ago, saltycaramel said:

iPhone+watch users: 100-200M

iPhone_only users: 800-900M

 

Those 800-900M will get the health app for the first time in iOS16 and could integrate it with the heart rate monitoring of the new Airpods. 

 

Owning the watch is not the norm, far from it.

Not to mention how big AirPods have become in the last few years.

[hishnash]

11 hours ago, captain_to_fire said:

Why? There's the Apple Watch for that.

Readings from inside the ear should be much more accurate so might well be able to detect other heart conditions.  It would also be one of the best places to try to use an optical sensor to measure blood oxygen and even blood sugar (much better than on the wrist). It's also a perfect place to measure body temp.

Furthermore combining it with watch data you can get a mesument of circulation quality (since you have a 2 data points one on the core blood flow to the head and one on an extremity). 

Apple is selling more and more watches for the health angle if they can use a AirPods to add extra datapoints this will only increase watch sales.

[thechinchinsong]

3 hours ago, hishnash said:

Readings from inside the ear should be much more accurate so might well be able to detect other heart conditions.  It would also be one of the best places to try to use an optical sensor to measure blood oxygen and even blood sugar (much better than on the wrist). It's also a perfect place to measure body temp.

Furthermore combining it with watch data you can get a mesument of circulation quality (since you have a 2 data points one on the core blood flow to the head and one on an extremity). 

Apple is selling more and more watches for the health angle if they can use a AirPods to add extra datapoints this will only increase watch sales.

It'll be interesting to see the different kinds of data or the increase in measurement quality that apple watch + air-pods sensors could potentially provide. I hear that the watch measurements are already pretty decent even if they're not completely medical grade.

[dizmo]

On 6/27/2022 at 8:01 AM, Stahlmann said:

If you're still looking have a look at the AKG N400. You'll have to import it from South Korea, but it's praised to be among the best wireless earphones in terms of just sound quality. (even praised by crinacle) You can get a set for around $100 USD.

I've pretty much given up on BT for now. I think the best wireless sets will still pale in comparison to a decent wired set. Especially if you factor in proper amplification. Even just pairing BT stuff is a joke on most phones. I'm hoping they have some breakthroughs in the next few years, then maybe I'll consider going down that path again.

 

In the meantime I've ordered another pair of IEMs, a new cable, and two new sets of tips to try out.

[Dracarris]

On 6/27/2022 at 5:01 PM, Stahlmann said:

If you're still looking have a look at the AKG N400. You'll have to import it from South Korea, but it's praised to be among the best wireless earphones in terms of just sound quality. (even praised by crinacle) You can get a set for around $100 USD.

If they are so good, why the hell do they not sell them outside of South Korea?

[Stahlmann]

1 hour ago, Dracarris said:

If they are so good, why the hell do they not sell them outside of South Korea?

Idk. I'm not AKG. But you can buy them on Amazon and Ebay with free shipping (at least for EU).

[Blademaster91]

1 hour ago, Stahlmann said:

Idk. I'm not AKG. But you can buy them on Amazon and Ebay with free shipping (at least for EU).

AKG sells the N400 directly on their site although they're $149, not sure why they don't sell them through other retailers.

On the topic heart rate detection on earbuds is weird, considering most people in the apple ecosystem likely have an apple watch, I think increased battery life would be better as there are a lot of other BT headphones that have better battery life than the airpod pros.

[NF-F12]

On 6/26/2022 at 7:22 PM, Neoxon said:

Obviously Apple has to switch to USB-C by Fall 2024 as per the EU mandate

 

Not globally, just within the EU.

Samsung sells (and has sold for a whlie) their Galaxy S lines with entirely different SoCs in the EU vs USA (Exynos/Snapdragon) and some other global markets so I'm sure Apple could easily decide to continue using Lightning outside of the EU if they chose as it's just a solder in port.