Honor has just announced the Earbuds 3 Pro at MWC 2022. The buds might seem fairly unremarkable at first, with a standard design and expected features like active noise cancellation. But there is a feature that we’d love to see Apple copy for its AirPods Pro 2.
The Honor EarBuds 3 Pro include built-in temperature monitoring technology, which the Chinese company claims is an industry-first. This feature has become increasingly desirable over the past two years as we’ve all become a little more wary of monitoring our day-to-day health in the wake of the pandemic.
As for how the temperature monitoring in the Honor EarBuds 3 Pro works, it’s pretty straightforward. Tapping the buds three times will activate monitoring, with continuous measurements given until switched off. There's also an “abnormal temperature alert” if any irregularities are detected. However, Honor is keen to stress that these readings are “not for any medical purpose” and have yet to be approved by any regulators.
Temperature monitoring functionality would feel particularly at home in a set of AirPods Pros because the buds can be instantly paired with an Apple Watch. The wearable smartwatch already offers a range of health tracking functions, including health rate monitoring, so it would be a natural companion for earbuds that can check a user's temperature.
In fact, prior to the launch of the Apple Watch Series 7 last September there had been some online whispers that the device would add temperature monitoring. This ultimately didn’t happen, but it's a further indication that Apple is at least considering the inclusion of the technology in its wearable and audio devices.
Just this week we've heard from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who says that Apple may add temperature sensing to the Apple Watch 8. But it remains to be seen whether Apple will include this feature.
Adding to this, well sourced reports claim Apple is keen to make its AirPods more than just an audio product. Last October, it was reported that Apple was looking into a variety of ways to expand the capabilities of its earbuds to include not only temperature monitoring but also enhanced hearing functions and posture monitoring.
The Honor EarBuds 3 Pro doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, although it's expected to retail for €199. While a U.S. release seems unlikely, if the Honor EarBuds 3 Pro can prove that temperature monitoring via earbuds is viable don’t be surprised if Apple, Samsung and others incorporate the feature into their own audio and wearable products.
