- Mark Gurman’s Latest Power on Newsletter Notes ‘Camera-Equipped AirPods’
- AirPods are just one wearable product that Apple reportedly wants to fit with cameras
- The question is, are IR cameras enough to beat Meta and Samsung?
Like the idea of your AirPods seeing what you see — even if it’s just the same tired faces on your daily commute? Apple CEO Tim Cook makes it clear, even though AirPods are only one Apple product, that the Cupertino giant is reportedly looking to equip with cameras.
That’s according to Mark Gurman’s latest power on newsletter (Sunday 26 January) anyway. The report states that lukewarm demand for Apple’s bulky Vision Pro has led Apple executives to concentrate their efforts on AR glasses as the “superior” option, but that the same people in the know at Apple “don’t think a (glasses) product will be ready for three years or more.
So in the meantime, the company is exploring other types of wearable products that could benefit from cameras, including—but not limited to—camera-equipped AirPods.
This isn’t the first time Gurman mentioned it, either. In February 2024, the noted Apple analyst reported that Apple was exploring AirPods with cameras. Six months ago, fellow analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that future additions to the best AirPods could be Apple earbuds that include infrared cameras to pair with your Vision Pro headset and thus create a spatial audio experience to wander any meta- orion rivals. And as we know, in the world of rumors and predictions, two tipsters noted that the same is infinitely better than a …
However, we were warned not to get too excited; IR-enabled AirPods won’t be available immediately, with mass production not expected to start until 2026 (which made us wonder in October if Apple could still beat the Meta’s smart glasses by adding cameras and AI to AirPods Pro).
And just five days ago (January 22), as if to add insult to injury, it was reported that Meta and Samsung are also looking at earbuds with cameras, following Apple’s lead with AirPods.
Can Apple win the race to put your eyes in your ears – and does it matter?
With camera-equipped AirPods possibly two to three years away, it feels like the door is wide open for rivals to step in and further dominate the AR space. Even if Meta and Samsung are playing catch-up on actually putting IR cameras in earbuds, the Meta Orion is slated for a 2027 release (along with Oakley Smart Glasses for athletes), and that’s just the beginning.
Another camera-enhanced rival product that jumps to mind is the hotly anticipated improved meta-beam pre-coating glass that could land in 2025—with a “Simple little screenshot in lens.” No, they won’t be the full ticket (and very Impressive) Meta Orion AR glasses prototype, but Meta’s next step will almost certainly have Apple execs a little rattled.
What about Apple’s other plans for its AirPods? Well, the long-promised heart rate monitor could be one step closer as the company tries to make its earbuds the most capable health-tracking earbuds on the market. But it is unlikely that heart rate monitoring will arrive on AirPods Pro 3 because (also according to Gurman late last year), although Apple’s has made great progress in this area, in particular, the accuracy is not quite there yet.
Back to the notion of cameras in your AirPods quickly, and – because it might not be immediately apparent why you had lack Eyes in your ears – it’s best to think of them working with your other Apple Tech rather than just AirPods that can see.
For example, an IR camera may perform the same function as capacitive sensors for gesture control while offering a wider field of view for your vision Pro. Your all-seeing AirPods could also feed data to your Apple Watch, or perhaps ping information to your iPhone in future versions of Apple Intelligence—hopefully not just targeted ads about the bar, store, or gym you just checked out, but let’s acknowledge the thought.
Finally, putting cameras in your listening gear could greatly benefit Apple’s purported (albeit three years in the pipeline) AR glasses. It goes without saying that they will need to be light and comfortable to compete. A way to shave a few grams off the frame? Put the camera in your ears.
Will it be enough to beat the competition, given AirPods’ undeniable popularity – and most importantly, should we all take a leaf out of the great David Bowie’s book and sit back and wait for the gift of sound and vision? I’m not so sure, but then again, it wouldn’t be the first time the Apples arrived late to the party and then went all over the place…
