Apple's event is likely to take place in September, during which the tech giant is believed to release multiple devices, including the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Ultra, and the camera-equipped AirPods. While the first three appear all but confirmed for launch, the earpiece isn't coming out this year, according to highly trusted tipster Mark Gurman.
We have to wait for one more year
It was in 2024 when we first heard that Apple is developing camera-equipped AirPods, with its mass production targeted for 2026, as per a well-known analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo. A demo video of the device also surfaced just a week ago, giving a strong indication that it is all set for a September 2026 launch. However, the product is reportedly not launching this year.
Mark Gurman mentions in his latest story that he has been told by people familiar with the matter that the camera-equipped AirPods are not among the devices Apple is planning to launch at its event this year. The reason behind this is that the company is still trying to figure out how to get rid of supply chain and software challenges.
It's worth noting that just last month, Kosutami, which is famous for collecting prototypes of Apple products, made a post on X mentioning that the development of camera AirPods has been halted.
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Do you look forward to wearing AirPods with built-in cameras?
Only if the AI features sound useful.
33.33%
Apple needs to address the privacy concerns first.
8.33%
Cameras don't belong in AirPods.
58.33%
12 Votes
New AirPods release rumors have been perplexing until now
Here is your first look at AirPods with Cameras in action using Visual Intelligence.
There have been multiple mixed reports regarding the exact launch window of Apple's new AirPods. Firstly, as mentioned above, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared that the device would enter the mass production stage in 2026. In May of this year, Gurman also made a similar claim in one of his stories by mentioning that the AirPods are in an advanced testing stage and Apple will start its mass production very soon.
However, just a month later, Gurman reported that the AirPods aren't launching this year; instead, they would come out in 2027 alongside the 20th-anniversary iPhone. At that time, Apple's struggles with AI and the remaining work on visual models that would be used to identify objects were cited as the reason for the delay. Interestingly, Gurman completely backtracked from his previous reporting by mentioning in one of his recent stories that Apple's camera AirPods are all set to launch next month.
He even mentioned in that story that the company is working on two variants of its upcoming earpiece, one with a B790 codename and the other with a B798 codename. Along with mentioning that the product isn't launching until 2027, Gurman gave a few extra details about both of the reported variants. According to him, the B798-codenamed model is a new generation of AirPods Pro that would feature cameras.
The B790-codenamed model, on the other hand, is a variant of the AirPods Pro 3 that would also contain cameras. It's the product that Apple was planning to unveil this year and that was showcased in the recently surfaced video.
Is anyone even interested in this device?
If you go by the posts and comments on public forums like Reddit, you would realize that most users are not interested in the camera-equipped AirPods. Apple fans appear to be criticizing Apple for why it is even trying to put cameras in its earpieces.
Reddit user comment about the Camera equipped AirPods. | Image by Reddit
A user made a very interesting comment that basically asks how this device would work for individuals with long hair. This is something I'm personally interested in knowing. Whether you will be asked to remove your hair from the cameras of the AirPods so that they can clearly see the environment or the cameras will not work at all. This is something we would likely get to know when the product is revealed.
The 2027 release is final, right?
It's surely pretty hard to say with certainty whether 2027 is actually going to be the release year of the camera-equipped AirPods, especially considering how many times its release year has changed until now. But until we get any other strong evidence, it's safe to assume that the device isn't launching this year with other Apple products.
Don't miss checking out these interesting stories about the upcoming iPhones:
Aman Kumar is a news writer at PhoneArena covering Google Pixel phones, Android features, AI-powered smartphone tools, and mobile tech news. Before joining PhoneArena, he spent over five years writing about consumer technology for publications like MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and Guiding Tech. His current daily drivers are the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, while his red iPhone SE (2nd gen) remains a personal favorite. Aman also appreciates bold smartphone experiments and still considers the Nokia N-Gage one of the industry’s most iconic designs.
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