Oliver Haslam·

New Report Has Apple Adding Ambient Light Sensors To AirPods

A new report by DigiTimes claims that a future AirPods refresh will add new sensors in the form of ALS, or Ambient Light Sensors. The report doesn’t say why the new sensors would be added, however.

According to the report we can expect ALS to be part of new AirPods within the next two years and that same report even claims to know which company has been lined up to work on the new project as well.

Apple is expected to incorporate ambient light sensors (ALS) in next-generation ‌AirPods‌ devices in the coming 1-2 years, and Taiwan’s ASE Technology may handle the backend process for the new component, as it has moved to purchase more packaging machines, according to industry sources.

DigiTimes doesn’t discuss what ALS could be used for in terms of AirPods, but it’s unlikely that it will be used to identify when AirPods are in someone’s ears. That is already being achieved admirably by using optical sensors and there are few, if any, reasons to make the switch.

Instead, it’s likely that Apple will be using the sensors for something new. Previous patent applications made by Apple have suggested that it might be keen to add Apple Watch-like heart rate sensors and other monitoring technology to AirPods – it’s possible that the arrival of ALS could be part of that implementation.

(source:DigiTimes)

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