Your AirPods may soon become your most important pieces of fitness gear. One of the AirPods Pro 3's new features is heart rate tracking for both workouts and periodic pulse checks. Apple's latest earbuds are equipped with photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors that shine infrared light hundreds of times per second to measure how light is absorbed in blood flow. What's more, the AirPods Pro 3 work in tandem with the iPhone's accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS and on-device AI for more comprehensive cardio insights and to estimate calories burned during exercise. Here's how to use heart-rate monitoring with the AirPods Pro 3, along with some maintenance tips to keep the tech in prime working condition.How the AirPods Pro 3 measure your heart rateAn important aspect of getting accurate data from your AirPods is understanding how the earbuds track your heart rate. If you're using Apple's Fitness app, the AirPods Pro 3 will continuously monitor your pulse during a workout. In addition to the heart rate sensor and accelerometer in the earbuds, details like location, barometric pressure and health information are also pulled from your iPhone, and they're all used to estimate the calories you burn each session. Lastly, if you're wearing both an Apple Watch and the AirPods Pro 3 during a workout, the device with the most accurate data over the last five minutes will be used to track your heart rate.If you prefer to keep one ear completely unobstructed for whatever reason, you might be happy to know you only need to wear one of your AirPods Pro 3 during a workout to track your heart rate. Both earbuds are equipped with heart rate sensors; you can wear either one so you won't have to forego your favorite ear.Required devices for heart rate tracking on the AirPods Pro 3It probably goes without saying, but you need a set of the AirPods Pro 3 to use the heart rate feature. None of the older AirPods models have onboard heart rate sensors. The only other option in Apple's stable that does is the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2.You'll also need an iPhone that's capable of running iOS 26. This is every model from the iPhone 11 and newer, including the second-generation iPhone SE.How to turn the AirPods Pro 3 heart rate sensing on/offTurning heart rate sensing on and off on the AirPods Pro 3 is simple. The feature is enabled by default, but you can turn it off in the AirPods settings menu on your iPhone.