Apple’s camera AirPods will not launch this year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports the leaked demo video changed nothing: the earbuds remain on track for 2027, with supply chain and software challenges still unresolved.
The video appeared inside the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate, which MacRumors published on Monday. It shows a man holding a book up to his ear so Siri can read the title and save it — “With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable.” A demo sitting inside Apple’s own software looked ready for a launch. It was not.
Why the leaked video didn’t mean a 2026 launch
Gurman’s reporting on the camera AirPods has swung this year. In May the earbuds were in an “advanced” testing stage with mass production to begin soon. In June they were delayed to late 2027. In early August they could launch as soon as September.
Today’s report says the B790 model — the one in the video, effectively a version of the AirPods Pro 3 with cameras — was “on the 2026 road map until recently” but is no longer planned for release. Apple has been working on two variants under different codenames:
Apple famously creates competing versions of the same product internally.
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg
The B798 codename refers to a new generation of AirPods Pro with cameras, and that is the 2027 device. Neither model is on Apple’s 2026 schedule — the company is still resolving supply chain and software issues.
What the camera AirPods will actually do
The cameras do not capture photos or videos. Low-resolution sensors feed Siri’s Visual Intelligence — the system in the demo that recognised a book cover — so the earbuds act as eyes for the assistant.
A file in macOS 26.7 labels the new earbuds “AirPods Pro”, hinting the camera model joins the Pro line rather than arriving as a separate “AirPods Ultra” — and that pricing may stay closer to the current Pro 3 than a rumoured premium tier. The AirPods could launch in fall 2027, possibly alongside the 20th-anniversary iPhone.
In the UAE, anyone holding out for camera earbuds has a longer wait than the video suggested. The AirPods Pro 3 is the current flagship — launched here at AED 949. The camera version will not touch shelves this year or in the first half of the next. Better to upgrade now than wait for a device that Apple itself has not put on a 2026 schedule.
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When will Apple’s camera AirPods launch?
Not this year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports the camera AirPods remain on track for 2027, possibly fall 2027 alongside the 20th-anniversary iPhone. Supply chain and software challenges are still unresolved.
Will the camera AirPods take photos or videos?
No. The low-resolution cameras are not for capture — they feed Siri’s Visual Intelligence, letting the earbuds identify objects, text and surroundings the wearer is looking at.
How much will camera AirPods cost?
Apple has not announced pricing. A file in macOS 26.7 labels the earbuds ‘AirPods Pro’, hinting the price could stay near the current Pro 3 — AED 949 in the UAE — rather than a premium ‘AirPods Ultra’ tier.
