Cameras in AirPods and Apple Watch still in planning at Apple
Earbuds with a lens: Sounds crazy, but Apple has been planning something like this for years. Allegedly, the idea is also planned for the Apple Watch.
AirPods Pro 2: So far only intended for audio.
(Image: Apple)
Apple would like to continue equipping its AirPods with mini cameras in order to use them for AI functions such as Visual Intelligence. Similar plans are also in the pipeline for the Apple Watch. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman reported this in his newsletter on Sunday.
First AirPods, then Watch
Apple is said to have been working on camera AirPods since at least 2024 or even earlier. These are said to work in a similar way to Meta's approach with its Ray-Ban glasses: Although there is no screen, you can be informed about your surroundings via AI using audio queries. Apple intends to rely entirely on its own AI models; to date, the company has used Google and OpenAI technology, among others. It is fitting that hardware expert Mike Rockwell has now taken over the Siri department – and his experience could speed up the project.
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According to Gurman, it is also new that later versions of the Apple Watch could also be equipped with a camera for visual intelligence. The regular computer watch is reportedly intended to be built into the display (similar to a selfie camera in a smartphone) so that it can then be held in the direction of an object to be "scanned" in order to start AI queries. In an Apple Watch Ultra with more space, the camera could end up near the digital crown and the side button, as there is sufficient space there.
No communication via camera
Computer watches with a camera are not a new invention. The very first Samsung smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, already had a camera built into the wristband. There have also been ideas like this for the Apple Watch as an additional accessory and in the form of an Apple patent(which has not yet been implemented). However, it was always about taking photos and recording videos – and communication. The cameras now planned, however, will be used to capture the surroundings.
According to Gurman, Apple is not planning to support FaceTime with the Apple Watch camera. This would be an uncomfortable position for the user anyway. In addition, the technical hurdles for porting a FaceTime app to watchOS are high. It is still unclear when Apple's first AirPods and computer watches with a camera will be released. A third generation of AirPods Pro could be released this year – but it is likely to remain cameraless.
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