According to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is targeting to begin mass production of new “AirPods with camera modules” by 2026. This report comes after Bloomberg also noted Apple’s plans for developing AirPods with cameras back in February.
According to Kuo, these new AirPods will feature an infrared camera similar to what’s used as part of the Face ID module on iPhone and iPad. Apple’s goal is reportedly for the camera-equipped AirPods to integrate with Vision Pro and future Apple Vision headsets:
The new AirPods is expected to be used with Vision Pro and future Apple headsets to enhance the user experience of spatial audio and strengthen the spatial computing ecosystem. For example, when a user is watching a video with Vision Pro and wearing this new AirPods, if users turn their heads to look in a specific direction, the sound source in that direction can be emphasized to enhance the spatial audio/computing experience.
Additionally, the report says that the IR camera on AirPods could detect environmental image changes, “potentially enabling in-air gesture control to enhance human-device interaction.”
Kuo notes that Foxconn is the “new product introduction (NPI) supplier for the IR camera that will be used with AirPods. Foxconn reportedly has an annual capacity plan of 18-20 million units, or about 10 million pairs of AirPods.
In February, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that AirPods with cameras are just one of the wearable form factor ideas that Apple is investigating. The company is also exploring smart glasses similar to Meta Ray-Bans as well as a smart ring, as well as future version of the Apple Watch.
9to5Mac’s Take
I think there is a lot more to this story than the Vision Pro example that Kuo mentions. While integration with Vision Pro makes sense as a feature, I don’t expect these new camera-equipped AirPods to be focused entirely on Vision Pro. My guess is that Apple has a lot of other ideas about how these AirPods could work with powerful multi-modal voice-and-image AI systems.
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