Rumours about AirPods with cameras have circulated for years.
Now, one of the most trusted Apple insiders says it could be real.
A company as big as Apple is always likely to get some hare-brained rumours. It stands to reason – it's working on so many different things at any one time, and when small tidbits get out into the wider public consciousness they can often be misinterpreted.
Take the Apple AirPods, for example. Those have constantly been the product of the rumour mill, with different ideas about what a future iteration might look like.
One of the most consistent rumours we've heard concerns the addition of cameras into the earbuds. And it might not be as far-fetched as we first thought.
That's according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, who spoke about the concept in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter. Gurman said, "Apple is still actively developing a product that would combine AirPods with cameras. The cameras would help power AI features by gathering information on the surrounding environment."
That's actually not a dreadful idea. Such a camera could build a far more detailed and capable picture of the surrounding environment, strengthening the abilities of the brand's Spatial Audio offering.
However – and as Gurman points out in the newsletter – it all hinges on Apple sorting out its AI offering. It has been the best part of nine months since Apple Intelligence was first unveiled, as part of WWDC 2024.
Since then, various bits and bobs have arrived in stages, though the performance has been somewhat questionable. The main event for most people – a revamped, AI-fuelled Siri voice assistant – has just been delayed again, and for an unspecified amount of time.
In order for new features like camera-driven Spatial Audio to take hold among the wider population, Apple first needs to garner some faith in its AI-powered output. Still, it's a potentially exciting development, and one which could improve the overall audio experience for users.
