Apple’s AirPods with Built-in Camera Leaked, Expected in 2027

ME AI message: Apple’s first AI hardware may truly be a pair of AirPods with “eyes.” This week, Apple accidentally released an unreleased video within the candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.7. The footage shows a user wearing headphones resembling AirPods Pro, who activates the “Visual Intelligence” feature via Siri: the camera on the headphones captures visual information from the user’s field of view and sends it to AI for recognition and processing. This is nearly Apple’s first direct confirmation—via its own software—of the long-rumored AirPods with a camera. Media outlets like The Verge later confirmed that the video indeed originated from Apple’s software update. The issue? These AirPods won’t suddenly launch this September, as many speculated. Apple still officially targets the public release of the camera-equipped AirPods for 2027. Although the product entered advanced internal testing by Apple employees this spring—and Apple initially hoped to begin production this summer—supply chain and software issues ultimately disrupted the original timeline. The camera on these AirPods isn’t meant for taking photos The most common misunderstanding about this product lies in the word “camera.” According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to use low-resolution visual sensors designed not to capture photos or videos, but to continuously sense the user’s surroundings and provide visual context to Siri and other AI features. For example, when a user looks at a book, a building, or a product, they can simply ask Siri, “What is this?” or “Remember this for me,” and perform related actions—without needing to pull out their iPhone, open the camera app, and activate Visual Intelligence. The leaked video demonstrates a similar scenario: a user facing a book uses Siri to activate visual capabilities and save relevant information. Details revealed by The Verge show that the stem of these AirPods is noticeably thicker and longer than standard AirPods Pro, to accommodate the added visual sensor. In fact, Apple has already laid the foundational framework for this capability on the iPhone. Visual Intelligence can recognize text, landmarks, and real-world objects; previously leaked iOS 27 code even included examples such as the Eiffel Tower and a coffee cup. The camera-equipped AirPods essentially transform Visual Intelligence from “only visible when you pick up your phone” into a constant, on-body environmental awareness. AirPods happen to be the ideal form factor for this use case. Rather than inventing an entirely new product like an AI Pin or another device requiring users to adopt new wearing habits, AirPods are already Apple’s ready-made wearable entry point. They come with microphones, speakers, Siri, and a massive existing user base—what they’ve been missing is a pair of “eyes” that can understand the physical world. Once the visual sensor is added, users can complete the entire chain: “See something → AI understands → Siri responds or acts.” Apple is actually developing two versions of “AI AirPods” This leak has also clarified Apple’s two internal AirPods product lines. Apple has developed at least two versions internally, codenamed B790 and B798. B790 is closer to the current AirPods Pro 3—it can be understood as adding a visual sensor and AI capabilities to the existing product. It was originally slated for Apple’s 2026 product roadmap and is the model featured in the leaked video. B798, by contrast, is an entirely new generation of AirPods Pro that will also integrate a camera but with a more comprehensive hardware upgrade. This explains the conflicting rumors about release timing over recent months. In June, reports suggested the camera-equipped AirPods had been delayed until 2027. But in July and August, developers continued finding traces of B790 in iOS 27 code, leading some to speculate Apple might release it early this September. MacRumors even cited internal discussions about naming it “AirPods Ultra” instead of AirPods Pro 4. Now it appears that possibility has been largely ruled out. Bloomberg’s latest report indicates that B790 was indeed planned for release this year—but Apple encountered supply chain and software issues during summer preparations for mass production. The camera-equipped AirPods have now been removed from Apple’s 2026 roadmap, and internally, Apple still expects a 2027 launch. But the real challenge may not be technical More significant than the release date is the privacy controversy triggered by placing a camera on AirPods. After the leaked video surfaced, social media platforms overseas were flooded with skepticism—even some calling it “PervertPods.” The reason is simple: smart glasses at least have visible lenses and frames; AirPods are already an everyday device. When a pair of AirPods—visually indistinguishable from ordinary earbuds—gains visual perception capabilities, bystanders have no way of knowing whether they’re being recorded. Apple’s current solution is to limit the camera’s functionality by design. According to Bloomberg, these low-resolution sensors won’t be used for taking photos or recording video; their main purpose is scanning the environment to provide context for Siri. Earlier reports also indicated Apple considered adding an indicator light to alert nearby people when visual data is being transmitted or processed (MacRumors). But “no recording” doesn’t fully resolve privacy concerns. For bystanders, what truly matters isn’t whether the device ultimately saves video to an album—it’s when the camera activates, what data it collects, where that data is processed, and whether they can clearly know when the device is “looking.” This is precisely the challenge all AI wearables will soon face: as cameras shift from devices you actively raise (like phones) to ones embedded in glasses, earbuds, or clothing attachments, the clear boundary between “recording” and “perceiving” is vanishing. Apple clearly recognizes this. Rather than turning AirPods into a wearable camera, it has chosen a more restrictive path—limiting the camera to machine vision input alone. But whether users and bystanders will ultimately be convinced may only become clear once the product launches. Because AirPods are just the beginning. According to Bloomberg’s roadmap, Apple also plans to launch its first smart glasses in 2027 and has explored a wearable AI device with a camera that could be attached to the neck or clothing. The camera-equipped AirPods, smart glasses, and AI pin all point toward one shared goal: giving Siri continuous awareness of the real world. If these products ultimately materialize, 2027 could become Apple’s most transformative year for hardware in recent memory. Alongside AI AirPods and smart glasses, Apple is also preparing a foldable iPhone, a MacBook with a touchscreen display, a new-generation smart home display, home security cameras, and smart home devices with robotic arms. So what this accidental leak truly reveals isn’t just “AirPods got a camera.”Over the past few years, Apple has been working to enable Siri to read the screen, understand personal data, and invoke apps; next, it plans to add another input method that allows AI to begin understanding what is happening in front of the user. But this time, the challenges Apple needs to address have changed. Previously, people worried whether Siri was smart enough. By the time the camera-equipped AirPods actually launch, Apple may need to answer another, more practical question: If even a pair of headphones begins to “see” the world, who protects the privacy of those being observed? (Source: Ifnar)