Apple Watch Users Can Finally Ditch Missing Heart Rate Data With The Right Earbuds

Apple Watch users have a longstanding issue with the wearable temporarily stopping heart rate tracking. This usually happens during workouts, and this lack of data has been plaguing users for quite some time. In a support document, Apple explains that there are many factors that can affect the performance of the Apple Watch heart rate sensor. Skin perfusion, the watch not sitting on top of your wrist, tattoos, and irregular movements, such as playing tennis or boxing, are among the most common issues for missing data. However, the company says that rhythmic movements, such as running or cycling, should be among the best ways to get accurate data. 

Unfortunately, Apple's smartwatches have had a hard time giving accurate results in our internal runs with different Apple Watches over the years. That said, it seems the company has finally found a workaround solution. Users can now pair earbuds with heart-rate monitoring (HRM) with the Apple Watch to get more accurate information, even if the Apple Watch sensor fails for a while.

Earlier this year, Beats released Powerbeats Pro 2, its first earbuds with heart rate sensors. While the Powerbeats were decent earbuds, their heart rate feature was somewhat overshadowed when used with an Apple Watch. The earbuds could only track your heart rate if you're not wearing an Apple Watch, meaning getting them for complementary data was pointless.

Fortunately, with the release of AirPods Pro 3, not only has Apple added an all-new heart-rate sensor for its Pro earbuds, but also released a big firmware update unlocking new capabilities for Powerbeats Pro 2. Among the features, users can view Powerbeats Pro 2's real-time performance metrics directly onscreen and even use a single-bud for heart rate monitoring during workouts. Most importantly, an Apple Watch paired with Powerbeats Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3 can provide users multiple streams of heart rate data for even better coverage when using both devices.

While we still have to test how these earbuds paired with the Apple Watch will behave, everything points to more accurate heart rate data, which should make workout information more reliable. To take advantage of these technologies, users need to be on iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 and have the latest firmware update available on their earbuds.