How Apple Made the AirPods Better for Running and Workouts, Explained by Two Experts

Years ago, I remember specifically telling people not to exercise with AirPods. I had gone through several pairs myself — after a few months, one of the earbuds would just stop working — and it just wasn’t worth it.

To be fair, early AirPods weren’t built for it. None of the first- or second-generation models were designed to handle sweat or moisture. In fact, the AirPods 3 were the first to have an IP rating, but at IPX4, it wasn’t particularly impressive. (I’ve killed numerous wireless earbuds with that exact IP rating.)

But times have changed. Apple’s latest flagship wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro 3, have an IP57 rating, which means they can be temporarily submerged and survive — they’re Apple’s most rugged AirPods to date.

Not only that, but the AirPods Pro 3 are the first AirPods to support heart-rate tracking, which only activates when doing a workout in your iPhone’s Fitness app. (Notably, this also opens up new possibilities for iPhone users who exercise without an Apple Watch.)

So, not only can you exercise while wearing the AirPods Pro 3, but they’re also the first AirPods specifically designed for this purpose.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

No Apple Watch required

Yes, Apple tweaked some aspects of the AirPods Pro 3 to make them more durable — adjusting the angle of the fit, sealing the enclosure, and introducing new foam-infused ear tips — but the integration of a heart-rate sensor is the thing that takes them over the top as workout earbuds.

While working in tandem with your iPhone, the AirPods Pro 3 can track your steps, distance, and calories during a workout. These metrics also contribute to your Activity Rings. Essentially, the AirPods Pro 3 (with an iPhone) are capable of delivering a workout experience comparable to wearing an Apple Watch.

Speaking of the Apple Watch, the same team behind its heart-rate tracking developed the experience for the AirPods Pro 3.

“With Watch, we pioneered heart rate sensing on the wrist, using an optical sensor there more than 10 years ago,” explained Steve Waydo, Apple’s director of Health Sensing. “For AirPods Pro 3, we were able to build on a decade of learnings around those heart rate algorithms and adapt [them] to the things that are different and unique about the ear.”

As Waydo put it, the AirPods Pro 3 use “miniaturized versions” of the Apple Watch’s heart-rate algorithms.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Now, heart rate tracking from your ears is a lot different than from your wrist (although both are good spots because they get great blood flow) — mostly because there’s a lot more variability when it comes to ear shapes and where the sensors actually make contact.

But using 10 years of heart-rate data from the Apple Watch, plus even more data from people testing prototype AirPod models, Waydo said they were able to achieve heart-rate tracking that’s similar in accuracy to that on the Apple Watch.

However, it’s more than just accurate heart-rate tracking. While wearing AirPods Pro 3, Apple’s goal was to deliver the same experience as if you were wearing an Apple Watch (sans Apple Watch, of course).

But that’s more complicated than just making the same workout metrics visible on your iPhone’s Lock Screen.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

The AirPods Pro 3 support the same 50 workouts as the Apple Watch. But tracking these workouts, which is based on movement, is a lot different from the wrist than from the ears. For example, you swing your arms a lot while running, but your head doesn’t move that much.

Therefore, to create the same workout experience, Ron Huang, Apple’s VP of Sensing and Connectivity, said they had to use “all the sensors available to us.” That means combining the accelerometer, gyroscope, and heart rate data from the AirPods Pro 3 with the GPS and barometer data from the iPhone.

Huang explained that, then, they built an advanced AI motion foundation model — using over 50 million hours of data from the Apple Heart and Movement study — that accurately computed energy expenditure for all these workouts. They then ran an “extensive validation study to verify its performance” using a wide range of athletes and normal people.

In a nutshell: Apple is confident of the AirPods Pro 3’s workout tracking capabilities.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Potential tradeoffs?

And I must say, the AirPods Pro 3 do seem to live up to that hype. I’m an avid Apple Watch wearer (and have been for years), but for the last week I’ve taken it off for my outdoor runs and walks (dogwalks) and just brought my iPhone and AirPods Pro 3.

When doing so, all the normal metrics for my run — distance, pace, heart rate and calories — that would’ve appeared on my Apple Watch face appear right on iPhone’s Lock Screen. It’s a very familiar experience.

That said, while AirPods Pro 3 can capture similar workout data as the Apple Watch, the convenience isn’t quite the same. Without an Apple Watch, it means you basically have to carry your iPhone in your hand to view your workout data (or change songs) during a run, which I’m not a big fan of.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

If you do have an Apple Watch, the heart-rate tracking capabilities of the AirPods Pro 3 are, admittedly, less of a sell. When used simultaneously, Waymo said that the two devices work together to determine which one is gathering the more accurate heart-rate data, and that’s what appears on your Workout screen.

When used in tandem, there’s no way of seeing if the heart rate data is coming from your wrist or earbuds during a workout.

Of course, even if you do have an Apple Watch, there are still many reasons to upgrade to the AirPods Pro 3 (especially its incredible ANC and improved sound). Plus, if you happen to forget to charge your Apple Watch, you can still pair the new AirPods Pro 3, get a workout in, and not miss a beat.

Apple

Apple AirPods Pro 3

• $249 at Apple
• $249 at Amazon

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