Codewords, blood oxygen monitors, and gesture controls could make the AirPods Pro 2 the most advanced wireless earbuds yet.
The Apple AirPods Pro 2 are the rumored next-generation offering of the company’s popular noise-cancelling earbuds – and if the rumors are to be believed, they’ll be the most advanced true wireless earbuds we’ve ever seen. The original AirPods Pro are among the best wireless earbuds you can buy, with immersive Spatial Audio support, active noise cancellation, and fantastic integration with the wider Apple ecosystem. However, the next version of these buds are now rumored to come with a range of significant upgrades: we’ve heard about everything from codewords that can control the active noise cancellation to blood oxygen monitors embedded in the earbuds themselves, but how likely are such futuristic features? Since the AirPods Pro 2 are expected to launch later this year (that’s according to respected analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo), perhaps the more fanciful ideas are just too futuristic – so let’s analyze the intriguing features we’ve heard about so far. The most recent rumor circulating about the AirPods Pro 2 is that they’ll allow specific codewords and voices to ‘break through’ their active noise cancellation settings. Spotted by Apple Insider, a new patent application called ‘ Interrupt for noise-cancelling audio devices ’ describes a new feature that’s designed to stop you from missing out on important conversations while active noise cancellation is switched on. As explained in the patent, a user “may desire to be interrupted by pre-designation contacts… or by a person who speaks a designated keyword to the user”. So, if your partner is shouting your name to say that dinner’s ready, future AirPods could turn off the active noise cancellation, enter Transparency mode, or turn off your music to allow you to hear them. To stop any person from interrupting your music, you’d be able to pre-approve contacts known to you and your devices – and to determine whether you’re the one being addressed by these contacts, the AirPods could analyse the volume of their voice and how long it takes for their voice to reach you. The patent also describes how this could work with codewords as well as voices, so you could train your AirPods to recognize when any person says your name, and turn off your noise cancellation accordingly. How likely is this to happen? As with any patent, there’s no guarantee that the technology described here will actually make an appearance, let alone in a new version of the AirPods Pro that’s expected to launch in a few months. This feature would be useful, and it certainly isn’t outside the realms of possibility that your iPhone could identify different voices and switch off your AirPods’ noise cancellation. After all, Siri can recognize up to six different voices on the Apple HomePod and HomePod mini, and tailor its responses accordingly. The technology required to make this feature work is definitely present – but whether it would be available at the time of the AirPods Pro 2 launch is another question. Apple has previously updated accessibility features on its AirPods range of products well after their launch dates, and we could see something similar happening here, perhaps to coincide with a new version of iOS. The rumor that future AirPods will be able to monitor your blood oxygen levels is something we’ve been hearing about for some time now. A 2020 leak from LeaksApplePro claimed that the AirPods Pro 2 will specifically come with ambient light sensors, backing up a previous report by DigiTimes that said future AirPods will use ambient light sensors to take biometric measurements – potentially for monitoring blood oxygen levels, as seen in the Apple Watch 6. This could work like the ear-based clip-on pulse oximeters used in hospitals, which shine light through the earlobe to detect the level of oxygen in a patient’s bloodstream.
