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See the full story · 2 sourcesGo to the 9to5Mac home page Switch site 9to5Toys 9to5Google Logo 9to5Google Electrek Drone DJ Logo DroneDJ Space Explored About Privacy Toggle social menu Toggle dark mode Search for: Submit Toggle search form Forums Store Podcasts Apple@Work Happy Hour 9to5Mac Daily Overtime iPhone iPhone Mac Mac MacBook Pro MacBook Air iMac Mac mini Mac Studio Mac Pro iPad iPad Pro iPad Air iPad mini iPad iPadOS Watch Apple Watch Apple Watch Ultra Apple Health Apple Watch SE Vision Vision Pro visionOS Music and TV Apple Music AirPods HomePod Apple TV Guides Reviews How Tos AAPL Apple Store Apple Arcade Apple Card Apple Silicon Apple One Apple Fitness+ CarPlay Siri HomeKit Toggle dark mode AirPods Camera-equipped AirPods reportedly won’t launch in 2026, despite demo video leak Marcus Mendes | Aug 19 2026 - 4:42 pm PT 0 Comments Bloomberg reports that despite Apple’s accidental inclusion of a demo video showcasing Visual Intelligence on AirPods , the product “remains on track for 2027.” Here are the details.
Earlier this week, Apple accidentally included a video showcasing Visual Intelligence running on AirPods in the macOS 26.7 Release Candidate.
For years, Apple has been working on the camera AirPods under the code name B798. This device was initially scheduled for release in 2026 before being postponed until 2027, I’ve reported. But Apple has also been developing another version under the code name B790 (Apple famously creates competing versions of the same product internally).
This B790 device also appears to be further along: References to the product have already shown up inside iOS 27 code, and it’s been on Apple’s internal road map for a debut as early as this year.
Given Apple’s accidental inclusion of the video in the macOS 26.7 RC and the proximity to the company’s iPhone event, expected early next month, it looked like the B790 device could be announced at that event.
However, Gurman now reports that Apple’s “effort to sell camera-equipped AirPods remains on track for 2027, despite a leak from the company indicating that the product might arrive sooner.”
The B790 iteration, which was on the 2026 road map until recently, was a modified version of last year’s AirPods Pro 3 that added the sensors and the AI. This is the version that appears in the video, according to the people. The B798 version was a new generation of AirPods Pro that also included the cameras.
Finally, Gurman notes that the recent leak has added to the controversy surrounding the device, with some users pushing back against the idea of AirPods with cameras due to privacy concerns. However, he notes that the cameras will be low-resolution sensors, designed not to take photos or videos, but rather to “scan the surrounding environment and provide context to the Siri digital assistant and other AI tools.”
Whether that will be enough to ease the criticism from those calling the product “pervertpods,” it looks like we’ll have to wait until next year to find out.
To read Bloomberg ’s full report, follow this link .
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Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.
He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.
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