This new pair of earbuds wants to track your health like a smartwatch — but there's a hefty price tag

(Image credit: Synseer)

The world seems intent on packing as many things as possible into earbuds — most recent case in point, the Synseer healthbuds. Seemingly inspired by Apple's push for health features in the AirPods Pro 2, they're filled with sensors to track your health.

They use some very interesting technology to more accurately track your heart through your ear canals. "A pristine listening environment" Synseer says "to track both hearing and heart signals."

More things in your earbuds

Thanks to Synseers' video, I've learnt how the earbuds work (between the video constantly buffering and the ever-present distraction of the bag of sweets by my computer).

"What if we told you that you could hear the entire story of your body?" I'm asked, as the video continues to stutter and load. Apparently, they'll tune into "critical health insights from the unique sounds of your body". Given some of the sounds my body is capable of making, I don't think they'll have a hard job of it.

It sounds to me like there's a heart rate monitor in the buds, like the new Beats Powerbeats Pro 2. I say this because there's not much else about the buds on the Synseer website, and the slow video doesn't tell us much more than the copy.

The audio side of the buds has similarly little — "best in class sound" is the best we're getting there. Great, I guess?

Man listening to audio on the Synseer earbuds — (Image credit: Synseer.ai)

The cost

They're $800.

The healthbuds are, genuinely, some of the most expensive earbuds that I've ever seen. That's more than the already expensive Noble FoKus Rex5, which already cost a whole bunch.

On top of that $800, you're going to have to pay a $30 subscription so that you can use the health features. That's mad. Considering the similarly clinical-grade data that the AirPods Pro 2 can gather, a monthly sub on top of an $800 price tag feels... out of touch when Apple's set retail for $249.

The earbuds will be launching... sometime? There's no release date on the Synseer website, but you can join the waiting list to be the first to know when they launch. I'll be interested to see how they rank against the best wireless earbuds.

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Tammy and her generous collection of headphones have found a new home — Tom's Guide! After a two-and-a-half-year stint as iMore's resident audiophile, Tammy's reviews and buying guide expertise have more focus than ever on Tom's Guide, helping buyers find the audio gear that works best for them. Tammy has worked with some of the most desirable audio brands on the planet in her time writing about headphones, speakers, and more, bringing a consumer focussed approach to critique and buying advice. Away from her desk, you'll probably find her in the countryside writing (extremely bad) poetry, or putting her screenwriting Masters to good use creating screenplays that'll never see the light of day.

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