Apple Is Reportedly Testing AirPods With Built-in Cameras
Apple is reportedly preparing to launch camera-equipped AirPods as part of the company’s broader AI technology and device ambitions.
According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, testers at Apple are using prototypes of the camera-equipped ear buds now, getting ever closer to production.
Unlike wearable, camera-equipped devices like Meta’s smart glasses, Gurman says that the AirPods with cameras are not designed at all for actually capturing photos or videos. Instead, the cameras can capture low-resolution images of the world around the user, powering contextual artificial intelligence.
This is part of how smart glasses work, too, of course, accumulating visual data that interacts with an AI assistant. However, those can also take share-worthy photos and videos. Apple has reportedly been working on its own smart glasses for a while, too. On the other hand, plenty of people have also used tiny wearable cameras for nefarious and annoying things. Allegedly, some tech workers are spying on users’ smart glasses images, too.
Although the camera-equipped AirPods aren’t meant to be a capture device, Gurman says they will have an indicator to show when the cameras are working. It’s an important feature.
Gurman explains that the cameras in the rumored AirPods could provide navigation information, remind people about items on shopping lists when they pass them in a store, and help Siri answer questions about real-world objects. As MacRumors notes, iOS 27’s built-in Camera app is expected to work alongside an improved Siri to incorporate better Visual Intelligence.
Unsurprisingly, in a world where increasing numbers are fed up with AI worming its way into seemingly everything, not everyone is on board. Devindra Hardawar over at Engadget questions the premise of such a product at all.
“I get it, Apple and all of its compatriots want to make using their AI devices seamless. Why pull out your phone? Why even ask Siri a question aloud? Just let the AI device deliver information directly to your ear holes, while your brain gets all the smoother,” Hardawar writes.
Gurman speculates that the AirPods with cameras could arrive later this year.
Image credits: Apple
