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Apple's Camera Equipped AirPods and Apple Watch Could Launch as Soon as 2027

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Apple is working on versions of the AirPods and Apple Watch that incorporate a camera, and the devices could be ready to launch sometime around 2027, reports Bloomberg.

airpods-pro-purple.jpg

Apple has developed a chip codenamed "Nevis" that will be used for its camera-equipped Apple Watch, while a chip codenamed "Glennie" will be incorporated into the AirPods. Apple is aiming to have the chips ready "by around 2027," and if the chips are available early enough in the year, we could see a launch that same year.

Last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple wants to incorporate infrared cameras into the AirPods to provide an enhanced spatial audio experience with the Vision Pro and future devices, plus cameras could also potentially support in-air gesture control, identifying hand movements. Gurman has suggested that Apple is considering cameras that would "feed data to AI."

As for the Apple Watch, a future model could incorporate a camera in the screen area, while an upcoming version of the Apple Watch Ultra could have a camera near the Digital Crown. The cameras would enable Visual Intelligence features to allow users to get information about their surroundings and more tailored directions.

The cameras destined for the Apple Watch and AirPods won't likely be used for things like capturing photos or FaceTime, but would instead provide visual data for on-device AI features.

Article Link: Apple's Camera Equipped AirPods and Apple Watch Could Launch as Soon as 2027
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/05/08/apple-camera-equipped-airpods-2027/
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Reactions: SFjohn
MR doesn't mention until the third paragraph, and not at all in the headline, that they would be infrared cameras. And saves for the final paragraph that the cameras aren't for taking photos, FaceTime videos, etc. Why not call them infrared sensors for clarity, MR?

So here come the comments from people who are outraged at the privacy concerns because they think these are cameras that work like iPhone cameras to capture photos and videos. Yay clicks!
 
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Reactions: Leoxo, ppdix, Asthmatic Kitty and 18 others
Man. we've been waiting for Dick Tracy like FaceTime since the Apple Watch launched. and now the camera won't be available to shoot selfies or video calls? That is the dumbest move on apple. Wait until samsung comes up with a watch that does what people want and then 3 years later Apple will do it too...
This is getting ridiculous.
 
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Reactions: 257Loner, Jumpthesnark and pakupakuman
ooooh, another 2 year away product.

I dont know about everyone else but time to start counting sleeps now.

Perhaps they will auto-pair with the Matel Hoverboard and self-drying coats that are doe 'in a couple of years' too.
 
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Reactions: DocMultimedia and Huck
mcfrazieriv said:
These are sensors...

Apple put sensors in the beats headphones for heart rate. And made the actual audio worse.

What do you think they'll do here?
Click to expand...
Yup! I really value the AirPods, but I’m concerned that Apple might compromise their core functionality by prioritizing flashy AI features over what made them great to begin with.
 
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Reactions: Luke MacWalker
Breaking news! The new AirPods coming out in 2027 allegedly the date has been planned to release new products together with Apple Intelligence is expected to be ready for going out
 
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Reactions: Huck
mcfrazieriv said:
These are sensors...

Apple put sensors in the beats headphones for heart rate. And made the actual audio worse.

What do you think they'll do here?
Click to expand...
Who told you that headphones are for the audio in the first place? It's like expecting folks to use iPhone to make phone calls! /s
 
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Reactions: Huck
Will be good if the camera on the watch can be used for FaceTime calls. Looks like initially it will be only for Visual Intelligence. Either way it will be nice to have some changes to the Apple watch.
 
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Reactions: mganu
Jumpthesnark said:
MR doesn't mention until the third paragraph, and not at all in the headline, that they would be infrared cameras. And saves for the final paragraph that the cameras aren't for taking photos, FaceTime videos, etc. Why not call them infrared sensors for clarity, MR?

So here come the comments from people who are outraged at the privacy concerns because they think these are cameras that work like iPhone cameras to capture photos and videos. Yay clicks!
Click to expand...
But I wanted to live-stream my ear canal!
 
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Reactions: Jumpthesnark
I'm willing to bet the CEO of MacRumors that these camera equipped AirPods will not be introduced by 2027.

I think I'm gonna start visiting MacRumors on the WayBack Machine and enjoy the quality content produced yesteryear.

One thing is for certain, A.I. and all the A.I. competitors are forcing Apple to innovate again.
 
AirPods need to glow blue when noise cancelation is active. People start a conversation and then have to start it all over again after I turn off noise cancelation and say "What? What did you say? I had noise cancelation on".
 
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The next step for AI are World Models. The data required for this is data that cannot be scraped off the internet. There are synthetic data systems by Nvidia and others that try to simulate environments where AI's can run billions of simulations for their robotics systems, but I would imagine real-world data that can be collected from glasses, Watch and AirPods being a valuable assets for that.
 
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