Apple's next AirPods to sport light sensors for health tracking

San Francisco: Apple is reportedly planning to add Ambient Light Sensors in future versions of AirPods to monitor data such as blood oxygen level and heart rate.

According to DigiTimes, Apple has tasked supplier ASE Technology to manufacture ambient light sensors which could be used to monitor step count, head movement and interpret heart rate.

ASE Technology would be applying the same silicon packaging process to next-generation Apple earphones that it had for previous devices that can monitor heart rates, step counts and health conditions and even to conduct intelligent translation and detect head motions.

In the past, Apple has filed patents for earphone health monitoring that would use light tomeasure heart rates.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that the iPhone maker is planning to start mass production of third generation AirPods at the end of this year which will arrive in Q1 2021.

Kuo also revealed the second generation AirPods Pro are not coming any time soon -- the company will start mass production at the end of calendar 2021, so they should be out in Q1 2022.