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Apple’s September event brought the iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, the cheapest AirPods model, the AirPods 5, with active noise cancellation, and a Siri Recap feature for the Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4. But the AirPods Pro with cameras that have been rumored all year did not appear. According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, they are delayed until 2027. I’m happy about that and I hope we never get them.
Why cameras in earbuds worry me
My worry comes down to privacy. Not every gadget needs a camera, and earbuds have become so ubiquitous that a person could carry one into a private moment without anyone noticing. A blinking LED on a pair of glasses or earbuds doesn’t do much to reassure someone they aren’t being filmed. Owners of Meta’s smart glasses have already demonstrated that people will conceal the fact that they’re recording. Filming strangers in public is usually legal in the US, but that doesn’t stop it from feeling unsettling.
Reports suggest the cameras planned for these AirPods would be low-resolution and “aren’t designed” to capture photos or video. Instead, the feed would feed into Siri’s AI and Visual Intelligence, helping with things like turn-by-turn navigation or identifying text and objects such as books. But even a low-quality camera can constantly collect data about your surroundings — and the people in them. That’s an intrusion I can’t get comfortable with.
Apple’s Audio Intelligence and its limits
At the event, Apple unveiled Audio Intelligence for the Apple Watch, which looks like a stepping stone toward the Visual Intelligence expected on a future AirPods Pro 4. Per Apple’s own documentation, audio isn’t saved and can’t be retrieved afterward — and the same protections may extend to video captured for Visual Intelligence. With Siri Recap, Apple says it can’t even access the data used to generate a summary. Anything that is stored, like a Siri Recap or a Live Rewind transcript, is end-to-end encrypted, and the people in a Siri Recap aren’t identified.
None of this has launched yet, so it remains to be seen how Audio Intelligence performs once it’s actually available.
Hair, hoodies, and the 2027 delay
Practically speaking, a camera is only useful if it has a clear line of sight. Long or thick hair, hoodies, or bulky jewelry could all block the view — reducing the AirPods to what they’re already good at: being earbuds. It’s possible Apple pushed the camera-equipped AirPods to 2027 to iron out issues like these. It’s also possible the company wants some distance from the current backlash against always-on cameras, fueled by controversies around Meta and Flock.
Accessibility could be the upside
There’s a genuine upside here: accessibility. Built-in cameras could help people with limited vision better sense their surroundings, or assist hard-of-hearing users with lip-reading. The technology might even be able to identify who you’re talking to and direct the AirPods’ microphones toward that person to improve clarity.
Set aside the privacy risks and the reality that bad actors — individuals and companies alike — are always hunting for ways to exploit new tech, and there’s real potential for good. But realizing that potential means placing a lot of trust in hands that haven’t necessarily earned it.
I’m not sure I’m ready for that.
Key facts
- iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max announced
- AirPods 5 now have active noise cancellation
- Siri Recap comes to Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4
- AirPods Pro with cameras delayed until 2027 per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman
Ready or not, it looks like camera-equipped earbuds are on the way regardless. Apple rolling out Audio Intelligence on its new Watch is a clear signal that the company is committed to using sensors to interpret the world around us.
Source: theverge.com
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