Apple is working on versions of the AirPods and Apple Watch that incorporate a camera, and the devices could be ready to launch sometime around 2027, reports Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
The tech giant has developed a chip codenamed “Nevis” that will be used for its camera-equipped Apple Watch. A chip codenamed “Glennie” will be incorporated into the AirPods, Gurman adds. Apple hopes to have the chips ready “by around 2027.” Gurman says if the chips are available early enough in the year, we could see a launch that same year.
In a June 2024 blog post, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a Medium post that Apple plans to mass-produce new AirPods with camera modules by 2026, featuring an IR camera similar to the iPhone Face ID receiver (not the transmitter).
“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,” he says. “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.
Kuo thinks the IR camera will be able to detect environmental image changes, potentially enabling in-air gesture control to enhance human-device interaction.
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch idea is for using onboard cameras and microphones to support artificial intelligence and provide context on a wearer’s surroundings. With the iPhone 16 launch last year, Apple started to inch into this territory. The new Visual Intelligence feature, which is tied to the Camera Control interface, relies on AI to help users learn more about the world around them. Now, Gurman says, Apple is examining the possibility of adding such features to its smartwatch.
A future Apple Watch could incorporate a camera in the screen area, while an upcoming version of the Apple Watch Ultra could have a camera near the Digital Crown. The cameras would enable Visual Intelligence features to allow users to get info about their surroundings and directions.
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