That macOS Leak Was Real, but Camera-Equipped AirPods Are Still a Ways Off
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Despite a big video leak found earlier this week, it seems that Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods are still a ways off. At least, that’s what Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has been told by his sources.
While that may not come as too much of a surprise, considering that we’ve been hearing rumors of Apple’s work on this device for more than two years, the presence of an actual video in macOS 26.7 Tahoe of all places, fueled tons of speculation. Many hoped this meant they could be just around the corner — possibly on track for a release next month alongside the usual new iPhone and Apple Watch models.
To be clear, this wasn’t just a leak of some code strings. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris found an actual thirteen-second video file in the release candidate of macOS 26.7 effectively providing instructions for using the feature, with the line “With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes saveable. See something you like, just ask me to save it for later.”
Although the narration doesn’t mention any product by name, the clip shows a man wearing what appear to be standard AirPods Pro picking up a book and looking at it. No other devices are in view, so contextually it’s hard to imagine this being about anything but AirPods with cameras.
It’s also noteworthy that this code wasn’t found in macOS 27 Golden Gate, but rather what will likely be the final major point release of macOS 26.7 Tahoe. On one hand, that could hint at an imminent release, but the flip side is that Apple would be far more likely to bake this feature into the next major macOS release, as it’s done with nearly every other new AirPods feature since the dawn of its earbuds.
Even current AirPods are only getting new features in iOS 27 and the gang; Apple isn’t back-porting these enhancements into macOS 26 or iOS 26, so why would it do so for an entirely new set of AirPods?
The bottom line is there’s really no rational reason for this to be in the current version of macOS other than a gaffe on Apple’s part, so we really can’t read too much into it about Apple’s release timing.
According to Gurman, the camera-equipped AirPods remain on track for 2027 — a prediction he made in June after reporting that Apple’s initial timeline had slipped. In today’s report, Gurman reiterates that “product challenges are still being resolved,” so the new AirPods simply aren’t ready for a 2026 release.
As many have already surmised, the cameras on the AirPods will also be designed solely to feed data into Apple Intelligence — not capture photos or videos — a decision Apple is making to distance itself from the privacy stumbles of Meta’s smart glasses.
The AirPods with cameras have also sparked privacy concerns on social media. Some users are uncomfortable with the idea of Apple offering a product that could record or take photos of people unknowingly. Some have even started calling the device “pervertpods.”
Mark Gurman
In fact, Gurman’s sources say they’ll be “low-resolution sensors,” which raises the question of how the video we saw earlier this week applies. According to the report, “they’re meant to scan the surrounding environment and provide context to the Siri digital assistant and other AI tools,” but if they’re going to actually feed data into Visual Intelligence, the resolution will need to be high enough to identify some text — at least from book covers such as the one shown in the video.
To make things even more confusing, Gurman reported earlier this month that Apple has two models in the works, although it may not release both. The first, code-named B790, “was on the 2026 road map until recently,” and was a modified version of the AirPods Pro 3 that “added the sensors and the AI.” Insiders say that’s what the video shows.
However, there’s also a B798 version that represents “a new generation of AirPods Pro that also included the cameras.” It’s notable that Gurman is also speaking in the past tense here, and isn’t even certain if either of these new AirPods will launch next year. An oblique tweet in early July from leaker Kosutami claimed the AirPods Pro that could “see around you” were “suspended.” However, that was a follow-up to a June 15 tweet that simply said “Case concluded,” landing around the same time that Gurman said they weren’t coming until 2027.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
