The Latest in IT Security

From an FDA meeting to Tim Cooks discussions of wearables, Apple appears to be increasingly interested in fitness and health — and a new patent suggests that interest has been growing steadily for years. As spotted by Apple Insider, Apple was granted a patent today for headphones that can detect head gestures and monitor their wearers activity, temperature, perspiration, and heart rate. An application for the patent was initially filed back in 2007, however, so Apple likely had the iPod — and not any in-development wearable — in mind as their partner. The patent suggests that the headphones would be worn during sports and exercise, letting their sensors monitor a wearers performance. But while headphones are a natural accessory for a workout, theyre not something youd wear all day, making the potential device far more limited than the type of always-on fitness and health trackers that people are interested in today.