Why AirPods Hold the Key to Apple's Next Frontier | One More Thing

[Music] Apple event season is in full swing and it's time to let loose or at least that's what Apple's telling us on May 7 we're expecting to find out more about new iPads and the apple pencil but it's interesting timing to announce new hardware a month or so before that other Big Apple event coming up WWDC software updates are expected across the board for all Apple products including those iPads but there are also plenty of Juicy rumors hinting at what's next for airpods this year we could be getting two new regular airpods with a new design and USBC charging cas but I'm left wondering if there's one more big feature hiding in the airpods let's go over the rumors what's fake and what's more practical to come in the airpods this year and what we're all wishing for I'm Lexi ceves filling in for Bridget Cary this week and this is one more thing these wireless earbuds are more important to Apple than you might think not only do they bolster the bottom line and have helped Apple's entire wearables category outpace the iPad and Mac in sales growth but they're also the most affordable entry point into Apple's wearable Bloomberg reports production of the fourth generation airports is kicking off in May with a record setting run around 20 to 25 million units are expected to roll off the line for a launch sometime in September or October there may be two versions an entry level and a mid tier with a new design both with USBC and the ladder might also have noise cancellation and speakers in the case so you can ping them from the F my app just like you can with the airpods Pro 2 and if you're keeping track all signs point to new airpods Pro in 2025 rather than this year but something that's cropped up again recently is talk of airpods with a screen you might remember Bridget mentioning this on an episode of one more thing last year and just a few weeks ago Dave 2D on YouTube showed off a supposed airpods with a screen in the case admittedly yes they look pretty cool but fakes are doing the rounds online of course now this isn't a New Concept earbuds with a screen already exist JBL has the tour pro too and a quick Amazon search will bring up PL plenty of more cheap options that you can buy now this just brings up so many more questions for me on how Apple could justify making airpods with a screen yeah it looks kind of neat but every device that you connect your airpods to already has a way to see what you're playing already whether that's your iPhone the Apple watch or even the Apple TV now maybe they could have some storage in them so you know you could use them Standalone like an iPod okay maybe not but with all the tech Nostalgia currently going on from flip phones to point and shoot digital cameras it might not feel that out of place to bring back the iPod at least in spirit now there are some simple more practical things that I want in the next model especially after having used and reviewed pretty much all the airpods models at this stage really a better fit is key because the airpods 3 just weren't really a good fit for a lot of people and two versions is smart especially if Apple can get the lower-end one around $1 to $120 that would make them very tempting and of course I also asked cnet's audio expert and airpods reviewer David k o about what he wants in the airpods 4 hi Lexi well at the top of my wish list would be some design tweaks that would keep the next airpods in my ears better the airpods 3 fit my ears more securely than the airpods 2 which I know work better for people with small ears but I always want the airpods to have a more grippy finish not just a glossy hard plastic finish that's probably not going to happen but we could see some changes to design that perhaps improve their fit upgrading the airpods 4 with an H2 chip with would also be nice that would enable the airpod pro 2's conversation awareness feature that pauses your music when you start talking and maybe that chip also helps with digital processing improving sound quality a bit along with voice calling performance I would expect Apple to upgrade the microphones in some way as well I think we all want to see them cost a little less there will be USBC charging but it'd be cool if the charging case converted into a Bluetooth transceiver so you could use your airpods with an inflight entertainment system without having to buy a separate accessory I've seen the rumors about a mini touchcreen embedded in the case to control playback that would be interesting but I wouldn't say that feature is all that high on my wish list I'd also love to know what you want on the next airpods so let me know in the comments Apple has been notoriously good about bringing new stuff to the airpods through software updates unlocking features that we didn't even know existed until way after launch for example the or original airpods Pro got spatial audio with a release of iOS 14 and that's when we found out that the earbuds actually have accelerometers and gyroscopes in them for head tracking and more recently the airpods Pro 2 got features like conversational awareness and personalized spatial audio when iOS 17 dropped now for more hidden features in the airpods you might not know about you can check out my video uncovering tips and tricks right up here more than any other Apple product I can think of the airpods seem to get the most exciting surprise updates through software and with iOS 18 and WWDC coming right up that could be something like a hearing test feature or a hearing aid mode there's been talk of Apple looking into hearing aid functionality for a while and the groundwork is already there the headphone accommodation section in your airpod settings let you customize a whole range of audio options and even upload an audiogram to boost the sound quality specifically tuned to your hearing needs environmental Sound Reduction and adapted transparency mode also fit neatly into this hearing Health bucket speaking of Health it's no secret that this has been a big Focus area for Apple in the past 10 years the company's been pushing into heart health with the Apple watch Mobility with walking steadiness detection on the iPhone hearing with the features that we just talked about and safety with fall detection and emergency SOS just to name a few but I think the airpods could be another key product that pushes Apple further into this domain a few years ago there were rumors of the airpods having a heart rate and body temperature sensor now that didn't happen with the airpods Pro 2 but it is something that apple is experimenting with or at least so the rumors say instead of relying on a watch the airpods could take your pulse from your ear now you might think that the ear is a bit of an odd place to get a heart rate reading from right well actually it could be one of the best places without getting two into the weeds here taking a reading from your ear can give you a clearer signal than taking that reading off your wrist just think about it your wrist is constantly moving around while your ear remains relatively stable and earbuds that read your heart rate are a thing and now I've been testing out the senisa momentum sport earbuds for a couple of weeks now and they do have a heart rate sensor integrated into the earbuds they're a little chunky to wear when you put them in your ears but you can see your heart rate during a workout and of course afterwards and it's super helpful to see all of this data Consolidated in your workout app and not have to think about wearing both a watch and earbuds when you're working out there's one more interesting pattern that I want to pick your brain about now it was filed in 2023 but it's recently been doing the rounds again it airpods with sensors such as an EEG essentially able to detect brain activity now the patent describes an electrode on the bottom of the stem that you can press to start an EEG session or potentially take an ECG just like the Apple watch does now at this stage the pattern doesn't really tell us how Apple could use all of these sensors but other wearables that do have EEG in them do exist like the Muse 2 headband that uses biof feedback to help promote relaxation and sleep also in interesting in this pattern is mention of galvanic skin response now that is something that we've seen on other wearables like the Fitbit sense this sensor known as Eda or electrodermal activity detects minute changes in sweat on your skin which can help determine stress levels I reviewed the Fitbit sense when it first came out and found that the stress detection feature was kind of more confusing than helpful it just still seems like cooltech that's not quite ready for prime time and even if these patents never make their way to a finished product I do like how apple is exploring ways to amp up its wearable range from being just entertainment and second screen devices to turning them into fully fledged Health tools now would you be into meditation airpods Bridget we'll be back next week for one more thing so keep those comments coming as i' know she'd love to hear what you think thanks for watching and I will catch you next time

Channel: CNET

Views: 67,144

Keywords: CNET, Technology, tech, apple, airpods, apple airpods, airpods pro, airpods 2, airpods 3, airpods 4, new airpods, airpods rumors, airpod, apple earbuds, apple event, wwdc, iOS 18, iPad event, apple iPad, airpods pro 2, Dave2D, airpods case, Airpods case screen, David Carnoy, Spatial Audio, conversational awarenes, conversational awareness, hearing test, hearing aid mode, headphones accommodation, environmental sound reduction, adaptive transparency

Id: vlIzX3IYulo

Length: 8min 18sec (498 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 26 2024