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Camera-Equipped AirPods Pro Development 'Suspended,' Leaker Claims
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Jumpthesnark
macrumors 68000
Seriously, the amount of OMG PEOPLE WITH THESE AIRPODS WOULD BE SECRETLY FILMING ME IN THE GYM LOCKER ROOM HOW CREEPY IS THAT comments in every one of these stories just shows how many commenters never read past the headline before leaping to conclusions. And it shows that MR loves to make sure that happens.
All stories about this rumored feature have stated that they are infrared sensors, which don't operate in the visible spectrum. This item says "The cameras would not be for taking photos or videos, but used solely for AI purposes," which is exceedingly vague but at least it says they're not for photos or video. Though MR says that in the fifth paragraph.
But people love to freak out and MR loves clicks from spun up readers who they are intentionally misleading, as much as they love clicks from anyone. If they were trying to inform clearly and not stir up wild comments, they'd have the word "infrared" in the headlines about these stories. I believe they have only done that once.
All stories about this rumored feature have stated that they are infrared sensors, which don't operate in the visible spectrum. This item says "The cameras would not be for taking photos or videos, but used solely for AI purposes," which is exceedingly vague but at least it says they're not for photos or video. Though MR says that in the fifth paragraph.
But people love to freak out and MR loves clicks from spun up readers who they are intentionally misleading, as much as they love clicks from anyone. If they were trying to inform clearly and not stir up wild comments, they'd have the word "infrared" in the headlines about these stories. I believe they have only done that once.
jz0309
macrumors P6
Where's the fun in reading every detail? And understanding it? And then make meaningful comments?
Just kidding 😎 😱😀
mansplains
macrumors 68000
You could wear these new airpods as well, if you’re interested in training your kickboxing, mma, etc
Well I’m assuming that Apple’s idea would be the same concept but without the glasses. And if you’re already blind, wearing glasses is just gonna confuse people.
If this is true it is just another failed so called innovations to be added to Tim Cooks list of so many others.
Development of Apple's rumored camera-equipped AirPods Pro has been halted, according to the leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami."
In a blunt post on X referencing a June post about the product "case" being "concluded," the leaker appeared to be correcting it to say that the project has been "suspended." No other details were provided.
The claim comes as quite a surprise, given that Bloomberg reported in May that the camera-equipped AirPods Pro were nearing completion and had reached an "advanced" testing stage, suggesting early mass production could be imminent.
That said, the same report also noted that Apple could also opt to wait to launch the AirPods if it was not satisfied with the quality of the Visual Intelligence features in development for Siri.
The AirPods Pro's built-in cameras are said to feed visual information about the wearer's surroundings to Siri. The cameras would not be for taking photos or videos, but used solely for AI purposes. "Kosutami" claimed in February that the infrared cameras will allow for the AirPods Pro to be "connected with Apple Intelligence," and other reliable sources have since corroborated that claim. The new AirPods have been in development for around four years.
Apple reportedly wanted to start selling the camera-equipped AirPods Pro in the first half of 2026, but the product's launch was held back because the smarter, AI version of Siri was still being developed – it exists in the current iOS 27 beta, but it won't be widely available until the release of iOS 27 in September.
Bloomberg said Apple was expecting strong demand for the new AirPods Pro and had operations teams working to secure components for a launch in challenging circumstances, owing to the industry-wide shortage of memory chips and other silicon. It's not clear whether this is the reason behind Kosutami's claim that the project has been suspended.
Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, around 10 months before the iPhone 16 Pro launched, they correctly revealed that it would feature a metal-enclosed battery.
They also provided an early look at an Apple Watch band made from Apple's controversial FineWoven material. However, Kosutami incorrectly claimed that AirPods Pro 3 were imminent in August 2024.
Article Link: Camera-Equipped AirPods Pro Development 'Suspended,' Leaker Claims
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
perhaps folks don’t even want them used for AI purposes?
Haiku_Oezu
macrumors 6502a
There was initially one or the other story which referenced the feature repeatedly with just “camera”. That certainly fueled gym comments. At the same time, the 5th paragraph starts with “The AirPods Pro's built-in cameras are said to feed visual information about the wearer's surroundings to Siri.” This implies we have to trust Apple that AI is not generating and interpreting data from visual information to identify people and surroundings in a surveilling manner.
I believe vertsix is referring to AirPods with a camera, i.e. what the article is about. 😊
johnsawyercjs
macrumors 68000
Some of the early rumors claimed that these IR sensors would be such low resolution that they'd be good for nothing more than seeing users' hand gestures in order to control things like volume and other features for the AirPods, but the initial concern about even that has been amplified by recent rumors claiming these cameras would have enough resolution to feed into the Visual Intelligence feature on a user's iPhone. Most infrared cameras (not just simple infrared sensors) in use today capture images that look essentially like black and white photos, with plenty of detail.
We don't know the resolution of these supposed AirPods cameras, but if they can feed images to Visual Intelligence on the iPhone, then it seems possible that they would be able to create images with enough detail that many people might find it invasive. Other rumors have claimed that Apple has been planning that these cameras wouldn't be able to actually save images or video, but those disclaimers might carry little weight with people concerned about their privacy, both because many people might doubt that claim, and because even if images and video weren't captured, Visual Intelligence might still be able to identify people, and though it seems pretty unlikely Apple would allow that, many people would disbelieve that disclaimer too.
If this rumor that these cameras have been discontinued is true, then it might be that Apple finally got the hint, and decided that camera-equipped AirPods might damage their reputation for privacy protection.
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I do like the handicap use case mentioned here and would agree products like Meta glasses should be marketed/used more as a medical device. For most though? I’d vote for a watch list and a map identifying the homes of these guys like they do for pedophiles 🤣.
Mr_Ed
macrumors 65816
People do read past the headlines. And between the lines.
As you quoted, it’s supposedly for AI purposes. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t heard of any of the AI giants extensively training with IR images for mass market visual purposes. Whether it’s Meta, or Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, or anyone else, where image based AI is concerned, the one overabundant (read, “cheap”) resource out there is visible spectrum photos and videos. Regardless of what sensors are in a device, any image good enough for currently available AI to do something with reliably, needs enough detail to prompt privacy concerns. That is the rub. Nothing to do with whether or not someone read the MR article, or did so without any further thought and decided “everything is fine.”
I don’t think it’s at all intentional. A camera is a camera regardless of what spectrum it targets (which was mentioned in the OP), and any “sensor” capable of capturing data about your surroundings (as mentioned in the article) that is good enough for AI is capturing an image, not merely detecting “presence” or “obstruction.” If anyone here (MR or other) had confirmed details about the implementation, I’m sure it would be reported but these are all rumors, reported in a rumors site.
The Game 161
macrumors Nehalem
johnsawyercjs
macrumors 68000
Their identity is not liking Apple ever since Apple canceled (some thing that they liked that Apple made). So, if there’s ANY opportunity at all to pile on, they’re for it! 🙂 Perhaps maybe THIS time, they’ll be the straw that breaks Apple’s back and crushes them for the audacity of (making things they don’t like).