According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is prototyping a version of AirPods with integrated cameras. This tech is unlikely to make an appearance in AirPods Pro 3, which are expected to debut this year – but nonetheless, it’s in the pipeline. The bigger question is: why?
Visual Intelligence integration
With the iPhone 16 lineup, Apple introduced Camera Control. This new button is great for taking photos and adjusting camera settings, but it also unlocked a new feature: Visual Intelligence.
Visual Intelligence is a powerful tool that helps users learn about the world around them, and allows users to take action based on the physical context around them. You can add an event flyer to your calendar, for example, or tap into the power of ChatGPT or Google to help learn about something you don’t understand.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple wants to bring similar integration with AirPods, mainly in an effort to bolster its position in the AI race:
Apple is working on a new version of the AirPods Pro that uses external cameras and artificial intelligence to understand the outside world and provide information to the user. This would essentially be the smart glasses path — but without actual glasses.
With this integration on AirPods, you could possibly ask Siri about your surroundings, without even needing to take your iPhone out of your pocket.
Improved spatial audio
Supply chain analyst Ming Chi Kuo has also floated the idea of Apple using these cameras as a means of integration with other products. Specifically, they could be used for better spatial awareness while listening to audio with Apple Vision Pro:
The new AirPods is expected to be used with Vision Pro and future Apple headsets to enhance the user experience of spatial audio and strengthen the spatial computing ecosystem. For example, when a user is watching a video with Vision Pro and wearing this new AirPods, if users turn their heads to look in a specific direction, the sound source in that direction can be emphasized to enhance the spatial audio/computing experience.
This suggestion in particular is a bit odd, but given Kuo’s credibility, its worth mentioning. He also mentioned that it’s possible that these cameras could enable “in-air gesture control” for AirPods.
When to expect them
According to Bloomberg, Apple won’t debut this tech until 2027 at the earliest, likely alongside AirPods Pro 4:
Into 2027, the team is considering launching smart glasses on par with the Meta Ray-Bans, as well as AirPods with cameras. The idea is to salvage the billions of dollars spent on the Vision Pro’s visual intelligence technology, which can scan the environment around a user and supply useful data.
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