both Airpods and charging case on a wireless charger photographed on a dark table in low light
We’ve seen in recent months how Apple is working on new smart functionality for a possible future pair of AirPods. Now fresh information about an upcoming fitness app and subscription service gives us more insight into Apple’s plans for the popular earbuds.
Bloomberg reported this week that the iPhone maker plans to launch a new workout subscription service that delivers virtual workout classes similar to what Peloton and Nike offer. According to Bloomberg, this is part of a refurbishment of Apple’s services, with their new fitness classes bundled with other subscription offerings, which can also access their music and TV platforms.
This is not the first we’re heard of a new workout subscription service, back in March MacRumors found a new fitness app buried in iOS 14 code, which allows users to view shows that download various instructional videos for a variety of different types of exercises, including cycling, rowing, strength training and yoga.
The reference to yoga may sound familiar, a recent Apple patent pointed to the use of gyroscopes and accelerometers (currently in the AirPods Pro) in a future device to accurately measure user movements and gather orientation shapes.
The patent goes on to state that “these stretching positions, which can sometimes be referred to as positions of user head, tilt of user head, neck stretch, poses, etc., can be used to help stretch the muscles in the upper body. body of a user. “
The patent specifically mentions the correct shape when working out, with the new AirPods being part of a system that coaches users and gives feedback on exercises based on movements. The idea seems to be that the AirPods can tell you if you are doing an exercise incorrectly, which sounds like a reference to yoga, of which positional accuracy is a core element.
This counts with a report by DigiTimes in May, which revealed that Apple plans to incorporate ambient light sensors into a future pair of AirPods, which could increase the earbuds’ ability to measure health data such as step counts, heart rate and control of other health conditions . As I wrote in another story:
“The light sensor technology could be conceptually similar to how the Apple Watch measures heart rate, which handles an optical heart sensor and uses a technique called photoplethysmography to collect information. As Apple explains, ‘blood is red because it reflects red light and absorbs green light. Apple Watch uses green LED lights, combined with light-sensitive photodiodes to detect the amount of blood flowing through your wrist at any given moment. ‘
Apple’s advantage in health monitoring fits perfectly with its wildly popular wearables. We’ll have to see how a few small earbuds can be repaid in all-singing, all-dance fitness gadgets. But the Cupertino-based company clearly sees an untapped opportunity in one of its most popular products.
I think the successful rebrand of Google that uses wireless headphones has inspired Apple, and others, to add some more functionality to the AirPods. The Pixel Buds will get their first major feature update in a few weeks – called a feature drop – and we’ll see how far the search engine is ready to go in terms of what their headphones can do with software enhancements.
Not too outdated by Google, Apple promised a slew of new features for its AirPods and AirPods Pro at WWDC in June. This includes a new spatial audio feature, which transmits directional sound so that audio appears from different angles, transparency mode and the ability for two AirPods users to listen to the same thing from one source at a time.
A watch and earbuds that add really useful health, exercise and positional monitoring in addition to Apple-adapted virtual fitness classes is a powerful sale. If the subscription costs are reasonable, if Apple offers a similar one-year free subscription with all product purchases, as it did last year with Apple TV +, then competitors will outsource their work to them.
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