According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, Apple is preparing to launch a USB-C charging case for the AirPods Pro, presumably this fall alongside the iPhone 15 series, which will also be launched from the iPhone 15 lineup. The Lightning port switches to a USB-C port.
In addition, Apple is also testing new health features for AirPods. The feature will test the user’s hearing health — “playing different tones and sounds so AirPods can determine how well a person is hearing.” According to the plan, this new feature can help users screen for hearing problems, just like the function of checking heart problems with ECG on Apple Watch.
At the same time, Apple is also trying to add sensors to AirPods to measure body temperature. It is said that the temperature measurement in the ear canal will be more accurate than the wrist temperature measurement. Gurman said Apple is also exploring the potential of AirPods as a hearing aid, targeting the tens of billions of dollars in the hearing aid market.
Nowadays, more and more earphone manufacturers pay attention to the function of anti-lost. Since Apple released AirTag, everyone has paid more attention to the anti-lost of items. Apple’s Find My can find iPhone, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch. Today’s Find My is no longer Only Apple devices can be found, and with the addition of third-party devices, the territory of Find My Network will be enriched. TWS earphones and Find My can realize the function of intelligent anti-lost.
Features supported by Find My
Harmful Tracking Detection: This feature notifies users of accessories that may not be recognized normally, and tracks the location of such accessories over time.
Lost mode setting number: Support setting specific devices or accessories into lost mode through this network, and you can also set a reserved number for people to contact you when they are found.
Find the location of the lost device: When a user loses a device, it can be marked as lost mode, and then the device information will be transmitted to each other in the Bluetooth network. Finally, when a user's Bluetooth detects the lost item, it will transmit its approximate location back to the original lost user to help the user find the device quickly.
Control the device to play sound: You can remotely initiate the play of sound to help users find accessories. This action supports both accessory owners and non-owners. After finding the approximate location of the accessory, the user can make the owner's iOS device sound a reminder, and the owner cancels the reminder to find the device.
In the future, Find My will become an independent network, and the addition of third-party devices will enrich the territory of Find My Network. Find My Network will provide third-party interfaces to provide better services. It will not destroy user privacy, except for the user, Apple and third parties will not know the specific location of the mobile phone. Apple's Find My technology uses Apple devices' Bluetooth wireless signals to create a device network to find lost items, and they will work with third-party companies to create Find My Network anti-lost products.
ST17H6x Apple Find My chip
Support Find My Network
Built-in 64 KB SRAM, 96 KB ROM storage space, and support multiple external SPI, PWM, DMA, UART
Support SIG-Mesh, support multiple nodes Friend, LowPower, Proxy, Relay
Perfect security mechanism: based on AES -128 algorithm hardware encryption, hardware accelerator supporting encryption algorithm
Rich communication interface and GPIO pins, can support various scenarios and complex applications
ST17H6x chip is used in Apple Find My application
ST17H6x multi-scenario application average power consumption
Lenze Technology has applied the Find My function in many Bluetooth product solutions. Practical application scenarios of the Find My function: children's watches, car keys, pet collars, anti-lost shoes, smart crutches, anti-lost schoolbags, wallets, and card holders. (tingting is a brand of Lenze Technology, which mainly provides Apple Find My service and applies it to major IoT products)