PhonoCardiograms: Apple set to use recordings of heartbeats and AirPods to monitor your heart

Lloyd Price
21 hours ago
4 min read

AirPods to monitor your heart

Recent developments suggest Apple may be on the verge of revolutionising health technology by integrating AI powered heart monitoring into AirPods, potentially transforming them into non-invasive health tools. A study from Apple Research, published in late May 2025, explored using AI models, originally designed for speech recognition, to estimate heart rates from heart sound recordings, or phonocardiograms, captured via AirPods' existing microphones.

This research tested six foundation models, including HuBERT and an internally developed Contrastive Language-Audio Pre training (CLAP) model, finding they could accurately estimate heart rates from 20 hours of heart sound data, rivalling traditional methods.

The concept leverages AirPods' in-ear placement and high-quality microphones, already used for Active Noise Cancellation, to detect subtle heart sounds without additional sensors. This could enable real-time monitoring of conditions like atrial fibrillation or irregular heart rates during daily activities, extending health features beyond the Apple Watch. Bloomberg and other sources have highlighted this as part of Apple's "biggest push into health yet," aligning with its broader initiatives like the Apple Heart and Movement Study.

However, this remains early-stage research. No official product announcement has been made, and regulatory approval for medical-grade monitoring would be required. Challenges include ensuring accuracy without dedicated sensors and addressing privacy concerns with continuous health data collection.

Apple’s WWDC 2025, starting June 9, might provide clarity, though current focus seems more on AI strategy than specific health tech reveals.

In short, while promising, this AI-driven heart monitoring in AirPods is not yet a reality, and its success hinges on technical refinement and regulatory hurdles.

What are Phonocardiograms (PCGs)?

A phonocardiogram is a graphic recording of the sounds and murmurs produced by the heart during its contractions. These sounds are primarily generated by the opening and closing of heart valves and the flow of blood. PCGs can detect sounds that might be inaudible with a traditional stethoscope and provide a permanent record for analysis. They are used to diagnose various cardiac conditions, including heart murmurs, arrhythmias, and valve diseases.

Apple's Research and Plans

Recent research from Apple has demonstrated that existing AirPods could potentially function as AI-powered heart monitors. The research utilised AI models (specifically Apple's in-house CLAP model) to accurately estimate heart rates from phonocardiograms. This model achieved high accuracy, comparable to dedicated medical devices.The idea is that the existing microphones in AirPods could capture heart sounds while AI processes the data in the background, enabling passive heart rate monitoring. This could lead to seamless integration of heart health tracking into daily life, as simple as wearing AirPods.

Apple's goal is to go beyond basic heart rate monitoring and potentially detect irregularities like atrial fibrillation and even signs of heart disease by analysing variations in heart sounds. There's speculation that the AirPods Pro 3, potentially launching in 2026 or 2027, might be among the first models to incorporate this technology, alongside other health sensors like temperature. Patents also describe how AirPods could use microphones to identify "heart pathology," indicating a broader ambition for disease detection.

How it works (potential mechanism):

The AirPods' microphones would pick up the subtle heart sounds. AI models, specifically trained for audio processing of biological sounds, would then analyse these phonocardiograms. These models can identify specific patterns and variations in heart sounds that indicate heart rate, rhythm, and potentially more complex cardiac conditions.

Significance

This could democratise access to sophisticated health tracking features, as many people already own AirPods and wouldn't need a separate dedicated device. It aligns with Apple's broader strategy of integrating health monitoring into its ecosystem, complementing existing features in the Apple Watch. The passive nature of the monitoring (just by wearing AirPods) could lead to earlier detection of cardiac issues.

It's important to note that while the research is promising and patents exist, the commercial release and specific capabilities of such a feature are still subject to further development, regulatory approvals, and Apple's official announcements. However, the concept of using AirPods for phonocardiograms and advanced heart monitoring is definitely a significant and exciting area for the future of wearable tech and health.

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