Apple’s camera-equipped AI AirPods remain on track for 2027 despite video leak
The new earbuds are designed to vault the iPhone maker into the AI wearables market
Published Thu, Aug 20, 2026 · 11:22 AM
[LOS ANGELES] An Apple effort to sell camera-equipped AirPods remains on track for 2027, despite a leak from the company indicating that the product might arrive sooner.
The new earbuds, designed to vault the iPhone maker into the artificial intelligence wearables market, had long been planned for introduction in 2026, with the product going into advanced testing among Apple employees this past spring, Bloomberg News reported in early May.
But by the summer, when the company had sought to begin producing the earbuds, supply chain and software snags led Apple to postpone the product until 2027, Bloomberg reported in mid-June.
Earlier this week, a developer version of a Mac computer software update accidentally included references to several upcoming Apple products, including a video of the AirPods with cameras in action.
The video, first published by MacRumors, corroborated prior reporting from Bloomberg that the AirPods will rely on Visual Intelligence, an Apple feature that uses cameras to analyse and take action on items in the real world.
With Apple’s September iPhone event approaching, the presence of the leak in soon-to-be-released software fuelled speculation that the introduction of the new AirPods was imminent.
But the product challenges are still being resolved, and the camera AirPods remain off the company’s 2026 release schedule. Apple continues to believe the earbuds will launch in 2027, said the people, who asked not to be identified when discussing unannounced products.
A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment.
Privacy concerns
The AirPods with cameras have also sparked privacy concerns on social media. Some users are uncomfortable with the idea of Apple offering a product that could record or take photos of people unknowingly.
Some have even started calling the device “pervertpods”.
However, the cameras on the device will be low-resolution sensors, according to the people.
They will not be designed to take photos or video; rather, they are meant to scan the surrounding environment and provide context to the Siri digital assistant and other AI tools.
Apple has long made privacy one of its main marketing messages, and it looks to avoid the kind of complaints that Meta Platforms encountered with its controversial smart glasses.
During development of the new AirPods, Apple has worked on two versions: one code-named B790 and one known as B798.
The B790 iteration, which was on the 2026 road map until recently, was a modified version of last year’s AirPods Pro 3 that added the sensors and the AI.
This is the version that appears in the video, according to the people. The B798 version was a new generation of AirPods Pro that also included the cameras.
If the new AirPods ultimately launch in 2027, they will join a flood of new Apple products in the year, including the company’s first smart glasses.
Apple has also worked on a neck- or shirt-worn pendant with a camera as part of its AI wearables strategy.
Even without the camera-equipped AirPods, incoming chief executive officer John Ternus will debut several major fresh product categories during his first holiday season, including the company’s inaugural foldable iPhone and a smart home display for the new AI-enhanced Siri.
In addition, Apple has been working on its first MacBook with a touch screen, a smart home security camera, a version of the smart display with a robotic arm, a new TV set-top box and an updated HomePod mini.
It is also planning several refreshed Macs with speedier processors and new iPads. The releases are slated to extend between this fall and the end of 2027. BLOOMBERG
