Apple Accidentally Reveals Next-Gen AirPods With Camera and Visual Intelligence Feature

Apple inadvertently disclosed details about its upcoming AirPods generation, which is expected to include a built-in camera, in a video found in the macOS 26.7 Release Candidate version, according to MacRumors. The clip previews a new feature called Visual Intelligence, allowing the AirPods to capture low-resolution images to assist Siri in providing contextual information about the user's surroundings.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had previously reported in May that Apple was developing AirPods equipped with cameras. The video shows a man wearing the AirPods and asking Siri to remember the book he is reading, to which Siri responds by highlighting the new Visual Intelligence capability that lets users save things they see.

The AirPods design resembles the current AirPods Pro but features a thicker stem, likely to accommodate the new components. The inclusion of cameras raises privacy concerns, although Apple may include an indicator to signal when the cameras are active. This issue echoes debates in the US over camera-equipped glasses, such as those from Meta, which have sometimes caused discomfort among unaware bystanders.

The appearance of this demo video in the macOS 26.7 RC suggests the new AirPods could be announced soon, potentially at Apple's iPhone 18 Pro launch event expected around September 9.