Apple’s next AI device could be airpods with cameras

Apple may have just given us an early look at its next AI hardware product, and it is not a pair of glasses.

A demo video buried inside the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate shows AirPods being used with Visual Intelligence. In the clip, a user points towards a book and the system identifies it. The AirPods also appear to have thicker stems than the current AirPods Pro 3, suggesting there could be cameras built into them.

The discovery is significant because this is not a supply-chain leak or a line of code. It is Apple’s own marketing footage sitting inside its software.


Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that Apple is working on the product under the codename B790. The cameras are reportedly designed to capture low-resolution visual information for Siri rather than take photos or videos. Apple is also said to be working on an indicator light that shows when visual data is being processed.

The product could arrive as soon as September, potentially under an AirPods Ultra name and priced above the $249 AirPods Pro 3.

The India angle

Apple has one major advantage over Meta here: consumers already wear AirPods.

Ray-Ban Meta has established the smart-glasses category in India, but Apple wouldn't need to convince users to adopt a new form factor. It could simply add AI capabilities to something they already use every day.

The bigger question is Siri. Putting cameras on AirPods only makes sense if Apple's AI can actually understand and act on what the user is seeing.

What to watch in September

Apple's September event is expected to be a particularly packed one, with the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and Apple's first foldable iPhone all expected to feature in the launch lineup.

If these AirPods also arrive, Apple could be quietly making a bigger bet on AI wearables without asking consumers to wear glasses at all.

Apple has not confirmed the product, but finding finished promotional footage inside its own software is a fairly strong signal that something is coming.