A new report says that Apple’s aim to add a camera to the AirPods is to power Apple Intelligence features, and that the device is due to gain many more health features.
The idea of AirPods with cameras has been reported before. Specifically, it’s been expected that IR cameras could be fitted and that these would aid spatial audio by being better able to assess the user’s environment.
Now according to Bloomberg, the idea was shelved some years ago — but is now back as a priority because of Apple Intelligence. It’s not clear in what way the cameras could help with AI, but the report is that the feature is now a priority for both the Apple Intelligence and AirPods hardware development groups.
Cameras are not, though, expected to be added to the AirPods for at least two or more years.
What may also happen, though, is that the AirPods could become much more significant in Apple’s drive toward health. Reportedly, Apple is now chiefly concentrating on finding how to make AirPods reliably measure heart rate.
At present, heart-rate measurements are said to be more accurate on the Apple Watch than on the AirPods, but perhaps not by much. It’s seemingly close enough that this could even be ready for the next version of AirPods Pro. Those are said to be in early development.
Apple is also said to be working on adding temperature sensing to AirPods, plus other unspecified physiological measurements.
The new health measures follow 2024’s addition of a hearing test to the AirPods Pro 2.
