Apple has just officially introduced Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, an upgraded version of the famous workout headphones. The most notable highlight of this product is the built-in heart rate measurement feature, making this the first Apple device to own this technology.
Previously, there was information that Apple was researching the integration of heart rate monitoring on future AirPods lines. However, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 is the first product equipped with this feature. The headphones use an LED optical sensor, emitting light pulses 100 times per second to measure heart rate.
The data can then be synced with a variety of third-party sports apps like Peloton, Runna, Nike Run Club, Slopes, Ladder, and Open.
Notably, this feature does not support Apple Fitness Plus at launch, but users can still track data via the Apple Health app.
Apple says the heart rate sensor technology on the Powerbeats Pro 2 is based on the Apple Watch, but has been specifically tweaked to fit the headphone design.
The sensor system collects data from both ears and applies a custom algorithm to filter out errors caused by movement.
Previously, Sennheiser and Anker also launched headphones with integrated heart rate measurement, but whether Apple can do better with its technology still needs time to verify.
