Camera-equipped AirPods leak in macOS 26.7
I have so many questions
If you follow Apple news and rumors, earlier this week you undoubtedly saw that the latest macOS 26.7 beta included references of unreleased Apple products. MacRumors has a full rundown, but it's safe to say someone messed up.
The list is long and includes products ranging from an Apple branded security camera to a home hub display – presumably like an Amazon Echo – to monitor and control your HomeKit devices.
That's interesting on its own for so many reasons (what took so long, Apple?!?), but one of the upcoming products not only was included in the list of codename references, but an actual tutorial video of how to use it was also discovered. That product?
AirPods that are equipped with cameras. Or maybe it's just one camera. Hard to say right now.
The video, posted to X (you can also view it on XCancel if you don't want to visit X), shows a person holding a book up and, presumably, asking Siri to take a picture of it using his AirPods to save the name for later.
According to MacRumors, the camera-equipped AirPods will use Siri and Visual Intelligence to answer questions about your surroundings and save information.
I have so many questions about how they're going to work. I assume an iPhone will need to be nearby to save images? Can you record video? Take regular pictures? Will it work with an iPad or Mac?
More importantly, however, is how Apple is going to frame the privacy aspect of AirPods with tiny cameras. Meta is currently fighting a growing trend of negative public sentiment surrounding its Meta glasses and their cameras – what makes AirPods with a camera any different?
We won't have to wait long to learn more, Apple typically announces new iPhones and AirPods at a September event.