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The AirPods Pro 3 are confirmed to feature in-ear heart rate sensing. Alongside iOS 26 updates to the iPhone’s Fitness app, users can now start a workout session in the app and use the Pro 3 earbuds to track heart rate, time spent exercising, and calories burned. They can close their Move ring, and earn rewards in the app — no Watch needed.
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It’s a massive upgrade for people who habitually use the free Fitness app tier. It’s an even more welcomed upgrade if you’re like me and fitness tracking is the only reason you’re tethered to your Apple Watch. If the AirPods Pro 3’s fitness tracking features work as well as Apple says they will, here’s why they’ll make me retire my Apple Watch for good.
One less device to consider
When I go to the gym, my tech arsenal consists of my iPhone 16, Apple Watch SE 2, and AirPods Pro 2. I appreciate my Apple Watch only for its fitness and sleep tracking capabilities, so I opted for the no-frills SE 2 model. My AirPods serve as a vessel for listening to music, canceling the noise from the busy gym, and taking a hands-free call on my way home.
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The AirPods Pro 3’s new heart rate sensing feature will allow me to combine what I love most about my Apple Watch with my AirPods, which are undoubtedly my favorite iOS satellite device. Combining both devices will enable me to only worry about remembering to bring, charge, and clean the sweat from one device — I consider that a game-changer.
Other essential features from my Watch, like Crash Detection and basic sleep tracking metrics, are available on my iPhone.
Upgraded native compatibility
René Ramos/ZDNET/Apple
Apple previewed in-ear heart rate tracking in the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, but the feature was a flop, characterized by app subscription limitations, connectivity issues, and inaccurate readings. Unlike the Powerbeats Pro 2, which are optimized to perform with iOS and Android, the iOS-exclusive AirPods Pro 3 feature considerably better native integration in the iPhone’s Health and Fitness apps.
The Powerbeats Pro 2’s live heart rate tracking results were buried in the Health app, with the best features reserved for those with a paid subscription for select fitness apps. Its paywalled functionality isolated users like me, who track their workouts in the free Apple Fitness app. I could only track workouts, close my rings, and track my heart rate and burned calories in the Fitness app when my Watch was connected to my phone.
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With AirPods Pro 3, I’ll only need my AirPods and iPhone. Upcoming iOS 26 upgrades to Fitness, combined with the AirPods Pro 3’s health tracking features, will allow users to start workouts with Workout Buddy. This AI-powered fitness companion uses your previous fitness data to create personal insights during a workout session.
The AirPods maintain their audio features, providing audio from your iPhone and noise cancellation, a feature missing in the Powerbeats Pro 2. When the Powerbeats Pro 2 were connected to fitness equipment to track your heart rate, they couldn’t play audio.
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With improved acoustic structures, noise cancellation performance, a more stable fit, and further integration with the iPhone’s Health and Fitness apps, the AirPods Pro 3 could eliminate the Watch as the middleman.
Potential for more accurate data
Zooey Liao/ZDNET/Apple
The AirPods Pro 3, Powerbeats Pro 2, and Apple Watch track heart rate with the same technology: photoplethysmography (PPG). Each wearable uses optical sensors that deploy a green light to detect blood flow. Upgraded Apple Watch models have more sophisticated health technology for more accurate readings, but that technology is not used during a workout.
However, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2’s PPG sensors pulse 100 times per second to monitor blood flow, while Apple says the AirPods Pro 3’s sensors pulse 256 times per second.
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Suppose it’s more important to receive more specific health metrics with a wearable that continually monitors you in the background. In that case, it’s more likely that you’ll hold onto your Apple Watch. But if you’re like me, you may not want another device to bother you about texts, calls, and notifications, especially if the point of purchasing it was to track your exercise.
Additionally, if you find it stressful when your Watch reminds you of periods of inactivity, that you’re not getting enough sleep, or that you may be experiencing anxiety, it could be beneficial to take it off. Even if I’m the only person in it, there’s a small demographic of AirPods enthusiasts and Apple Watch tolerators that Apple is merging together.
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With the AirPods Pro 2’s hearing aid feature and the Pro 3’s fitness integration, it’s clear the next ceiling Apple aims to take earbuds through is health and fitness, opposed to a variety of Bluetooth codecs or multiple generative AI features. I’m excited to see what’s next.
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