One of the most exciting new features in the Apple AirPods Pro 3 is heart rate tracking, which uses a new sensor in the headphones.
While heart rate tracking in headphones isn’t new, in my testing, I’ve found that the AirPods Pro 3 are the first buds I’ve tried to actually produce accurate info, so it’s worth using if you wear your buds during workouts in particular.
Here’s how to track your heart rate with the Apple AirPods Pro 3.
How does the Apple AirPods Pro 3 heart rate sensor work?
The heart rate sensor in the AirPods Pro 3 is found on the side of the earbuds, next to the ear tip. You need to make sure this part of the buds is clean and uncovered for the sensor to get a good reading.
This sensor pulses infrared light 256 times per second to measure blood flow in your ears, and algorithms are then used to determine your heart rate from the data. These are important for cancelling out other factors, like the thudding of your feet when walking or running.
The use of infrared light is a key difference to the sensor on the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, which uses green LEDs to track your blood flow, with less accurate results in my experience.
How to track your heart rate with the Apple AirPods Pro 3
When wearing your AirPods Pro 3, open the Fitness app on your iPhone and navigate to the Workout section. You should see an image of the AirPods in the top right of the screen, indicating that they are connected to the phone.
If you then start any workout in the app, your heart rate will be tracked by the AirPods Pro 3 and you will view your stats live in the Fitness app or on your lock screen.
If you’re also linked to an Apple Watch, then the heart rate from both the watch and the AirPods will be tracked and Apple will use what it determines to be the most accurate data at the time.
Your heart rate will also be tracked outside of workouts if you’re wearing the AirPods Pro 3. You can see the recorded data in the Health app, under Heart Rate. You can use the AirPods Pro 3 to track your heart rate during Fitness+ workouts on your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
The AirPods Pro 3 should be able to pair with third-party apps like Runna and Nike Run Club in time, but I’ve not been able to make this work yet.
Is the heart rate tracking on the Apple AirPods Pro 3 accurate?
I was skeptical of the accuracy of the AirPods Pro 3’s heart rate tracking purely because I’ve tried several other headphones with this feature, including the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, and none of them have been accurate.
However, when I compared the AirPods Pro 3 to the readings from a chest strap, which deliver reliable tracking by using electrical signals from the heart rate, I found the AirPods Pro 3 more or less matched it beat for beat during several workouts.
In my testing so far, the AirPods Pro 3 have been more accurate than the Apple Watch Ultra 3 as well, so when both are paired to my phone, I expect the headphones to provide the heart rate during workouts.
How to turn off heart rate tracking on the Apple AirPods Pro 3
If you’re not fussed about the new feature on the AirPods Pro 3, you can easily disable it in settings on your iPhone.
Go to the settings for your AirPods Pro 3 and scroll down to the Privacy section, where you’ll see Heart Rate. You can toggle this on or off depending on your preferences.
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