Wireless earbuds have become a daily essential for most people, but what if they could do more than just play music or take calls? That’s exactly what Synseer is aiming for with its new HealthBuds, a pair of earbuds designed not just for audio but also for real-time heart and hearing health monitoring. Officially unveiled at SXSW 2025 in Austin, Texas, these earbuds promise to track biometric data while still functioning like any other pair of true wireless earbuds.

Most fitness tracking devices, like smartwatches and fitness bands, use optical sensors to monitor heart rate. Synseer is taking a different route, using infrared and ultrasonic technology to pick up subtle changes inside the ear that relate to heart activity. The idea is that the ear provides a more accurate location for measuring heart health than the wrist.

But that’s not all—HealthBuds also monitor hearing health while you go about your day. Whether you’re listening to music, on a phone call, or just wearing them passively, the earbuds are continuously gathering data. Synseer calls this the AudioDome, an in-ear environment where built-in microphones can listen for biometric signals.

Along with health tracking, HealthBuds come with active noise cancellation (ANC), putting them in the same category as high-end wireless earbuds like Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 and the new Beats Powerbeats Pro 2. But what makes these different is their always-on fitness tracking, which runs in the background while you use them like regular earbuds.

Another interesting addition is hearing assistance technology, though it’s still unclear whether this means they function as actual hearing aids or if they just offer basic sound amplification. Synseer hasn’t shared much detail on this yet.

"Extensive HealthBuds testing data demonstrates that they are comparable to expensive in-hospital equipment. They are the first devices in a personal health and wellness ecosystem being developed by Synseer. Every body tells a story that can improve our health, but most of us are not equipped to understand and respond to what our bodies are telling us,” says Synseer founder and CEO John Martino.

"HealthBuds have been developed to allow users to truly listen to the unique stories their bodies are sharing with them so they can then take charge – to drive better hearing and better health."

Here’s where things get complicated. The HealthBuds retail for $799, which is already a steep price for a pair of earbuds. However, Synseer is offering a preorder deal where you can get them for $399 instead.

But there’s a catch—on top of that price, you’ll also have to pay a monthly subscription fee to access the health tracking features. That’s $30 per month (or $25 per month for preorders), adding up to $300 per year at the discounted rate.

What exactly does this subscription cover? That’s still unclear. While fitness apps often charge for advanced tracking and coaching, it’s unusual for hardware like earbuds to require a monthly fee for core functions. The big question is whether essential features will be locked behind the subscription, or if it just adds extra perks.

Before HealthBuds can hit the market, they need FDA approval, which could take some time. Assuming everything goes smoothly, Synseer expects to release them in late summer 2025. The company has also teased an AI health coach feature, which is planned for a later update. HealthBuds will work with both Android and Apple smartphones.

Synseer is introducing a two-year upgrade program where customers can trade in their HealthBuds for a new pair at no extra cost. The old units will be refurbished and donated to people with untreated hearing loss through a non-profit initiative. It’s a unique program that could help make hearing health tech more accessible, though it remains to be seen how many people will take advantage of it.

The HealthBuds raise a lot of interesting possibilities, but also a lot of questions. The concept of health-tracking earbuds is compelling, but will they be accurate enough to replace traditional heart monitoring devices? And can they truly deliver better data than a smartwatch?

Then there’s the pricing—$799 plus a subscription is a big ask, especially when most smartwatches don’t charge extra for basic heart rate tracking. If Synseer can prove that their technology is truly superior, these earbuds could be a major innovation in personal health monitoring. But for now, they remain an intriguing but unproven option in the growing health tech market.

For those interested, preorders are open now, but it might be worth waiting to see how well the HealthBuds perform in real-world use—and whether the subscription is actually worth it.

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