iPhone App Notifies You Via AirPods If Your Posture is Bad

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 20 March 2022, 02:03 pm

An iPhone app can help you sit properly as you play video games, sit at your desk, or watch TV as long as you have your AirPods on.

The app called PosturePal uses a motion-tracking feature in iOS 15 that can tell the position of your head as you are wearing your AirPods and will alert you if your posture is bad.

iPhone App PosturePal to Help Correct Your Posture

The free app is available for download on App Store. However, it comes with a one-off purchase of $1.99, so you can unlock all of its features, according to 9to5Mac.

PosturePal's design is easy to navigate, and you are greeted with a character that reacts when you tilt your head incorrectly. Once you are done using the app, you are given a score so you will know how well you did for the day.

In an interview with TechRadar's Daryl Baxter, the app's developer Jordi Bruin talked about how PosturePal came to be and how they plan to help their user with their posture.

Also Read: Apple Health, Wallet: How to Add COVID Vaccination Cards on iPhone Apps for Digital Integration

Bruin revealed that the app's first version was up and running in only 10 minutes in October 2021. He revealed that the API was clear, and he found great sample code on GitHub, which allowed him to test out if the idea would be feasible.

The PosturePal app is available for iOS users with AirPods and an iPhone. Bruin said that they asked Apple users if there were any issues that may still need solving.

Since Bruin had access to AirPods Max during that time, he could not test all of the different supported headphones. The issue with the regular AirPods and AirPods Pro is that a lot of people wear them in the wrong way.

For example, users can be tilting them forward more than they should. Bruin said that he knows how he wants to fix it, but it is a difficult problem to test when he has to borrow AirPods from his friends.

How the PosturePal App Works

The app can benefit your neck, back, and shoulders. The app will gently nudge you to make sure that your head is straight. This will also help keep posture at the top of the user's mind, according to iOSHacker.

Bruin said that he is trying to add stuff like Shortcuts support to automatically start a session when a user connects to their AirPods.

According to TechRadar's Daryl Baxter, users would experience the pings and vibrations from the app, and they will be instructed to keep their heads up straight.

As for the notifications, Bruin said that they are planning to update the app so they can offer a push notification. However, they are still studying why people want a notification instead of a subtle sound through the AirPods that they are already using.

Widgets are currently missing from PosturePal despite being popular in iOS 14 and iPadOS 15. Bruin said that they are working on it as they wanted to keep the first release small and focused on the user experience, but users can expect a full history view, widgets, progress over time, and more features soon.

In October 2021, iOS 14 offered several iPhone health widgets, including a heart rate monitor, calorie counter, sleep time, and more.

Meanwhile, iOS 15 offered several iPhone apps that focused on the user's wellness, including the storage of medical records.