Apple AirPods have been consistently strong sellers for the company. So, why would Cupertino rush to update them when they are doing such good business as they are?
Well, for the usual reason: to deliver something more advanced and more capable. A new hint, direct from Apple, no less, comes in the form of trademark filings from Hong Kong and Europe, made on November 2 this year.
This was spotted by Patently Apple and it strongly suggests that a future version of the in-ear buds could have health-related smarts.
This tallies with a report from Bloomberg back in June that the next generation will feature biometric sensors, for instance, to monitor your heart rate.
Patently Apple, as usual, goes into forensic detail about what’s going to change. In summary, the original AirPods Registered Trademark covered something called International Class 09. No, me neither.
Anyway, Class 09 refers to audio components, sound recording, earphones, headphones… well, you get the idea.
But the new trademark filings, the ones just made in Europe and Hong Kong, expand these categories and hint at the kinds of features future AirPods may cover. There are three new classes, 10, 14 and 28.
The first of these, Class 10, covers general wellness instruments:
...namely, health, fitness, exercise, and wellness sensors, monitors, speakers and displays for measuring, displaying, tracking, reporting, monitoring, storing, and transmitting biometric data, heart rate, body movement, and calories burned; hearing aids; medical apparatus and instruments; apparatus for use in medical analysis; testing apparatus for medical purposes; pulse meters; thermometers for medical purposes; spirometers [medical apparatus]; dental apparatus; heart rate monitoring apparatus; ear plugs [ear protection devices]; feeding bottles; non-chemical contraceptives; hair prostheses; plaster bandages for orthopaedic purposes; suture materials.
The inclusion of elements like "health, fitness, exercise, and wellness sensors", not to mention "transmitting biometric data, heart rate, body movement and calories burned" certainly suggest that the AirPods will join the iPhone and Apple Watch in tracking health parameters. And, as you can see, there’s a lot more in there for Apple to tackle if it wants to at a later date, without the need for more filings. Dental apparatus, huh?
Then there’s Class 14 which covers horological and chronometric instruments - in other words watches, clocks, watch straps and the like. So, maybe there’s going to be a greater tie-up between the AirPods and Apple Watch in the future.
And finally, Class 28 covers games and playthings, as it calls them.
Of course, we know that Apple putting something in a trademark filing is a long way from guaranteeing that features will appear in the near future or even at all.
But it’s an intriguing hint of what might be to come. Previous suggestions have hinted that AirPods with significant upgrades will be more expensive than the current headphones.
We still don’t know exactly when AirPods 2 will be announced, let alone released, but if the AirPower charging pad arrives before the end of the year - and Apple hasn’t yet said it won’t, it may be that some kind of improved AirPods will be revealed then, and hopefully it’ll mean more than just the upgraded case, already announced, that delivers wireless charging to the earbuds within.
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