Apple to start producing AirPods with cameras, new report claims
- A new report claims Apple is set to introduce AirPods with integrated cameras
- The cameras would be similar to the type used for the Face ID feature
- The new AirPods would enhance the user experience while wearing Vision Pro
Published on Jul 11, 2024 at 8:58 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jul 11, 2024 at 9:00 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
According to a new report, Apple is set to start mass-producing AirPods with integrated cameras.
The tech giant is reportedly eyeing new designs that would see its wildly popular earbuds fitted with an infrared camera – similar to the one used for Apple’s Face ID feature.
The report, from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, claims that Apple will be adding camera modules to the AirPods to enable them to work more cohesively with Vision Pro and future Apple Vision headsets.
Kuo claims the cameras will ‘enhance the user experience of spatial audio and strengthen the spatial computing ecosystem’.
READ MORE! Apple unveils Vision Pro and video shows it might be the future
What will the AirPods cameras be used for?
As an example of how the tech could work in real life, Kuo explains that if someone was watching a video with their Vision Pro unit while wearing the new AirPods and moved their head in a specific direction, the sound source in that direction could be emphasized to enhance the audio/visual experience.
Pretty neat, right?
Kuo goes on to say that the camera could also detect environment changes, which could allow ‘in-air gesture control’.
Apple’s new products are almost always a commercial hit – with people happy to queue up overnight to get their hands on the latest drop.
As such, the new AirPods reported product introduction supplier – Foxconn – has an annual capacity plan for between 18-20 million earbuds, around 10 million pairs.
The new AirPods are tipped to go into mass production in 2026.
This isn’t the first time Apple has been rumored to be tinkering with this tech
Apple has yet to confirm or deny the report’s contents, so you may wish to take it with a grain of salt.
However, it’s not the first time such a claim has been made.
Back in February this year, Bloomberg said Apple was ‘exploring’ the idea of earbud-sized cameras.
“The company is exploring the idea of putting cameras on the earbuds, along with more advanced AI and health sensors,” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote.
The article went on to claim that the project even had its own codename: B798.
“It involves company engineers figuring out how to fit low-resolution camera sensors into earbuds about the size of today’s AirPods,” he wrote.
“Such cameras could theoretically be used to capture data that would be processed via AI and assist people in their daily routines.”
Apple has recently sparked rumors it could be bringing stretchable screens to its devices after a patent application was filed.
It seems like the company could be going all out on creating some next-generation products.
Claire Reid
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
