The difference between a mediocre AI answer and a truly powerful one comes down to a single word: context. It's the idea driving a wave of AI wearables, and Apple may be preparing to launch its first AI hardware device.
On Monday, MacRumors unearthed a video clip of a user wearing and using camera-equipped AirPods in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate. The user is holding a book up in front of him so the AirPods camera can see the title. The voiceover says, "With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later."
Visual Intelligence refers to Apple's multimodal AI that lets users point their phone camera at something and ask Siri about it. Presumably, the Visual Intelligence integration into the AirPods would work the same way, just this time using the feed from the new cameras in AirPods.
Apple Watcher Mark Gurman has previously reported that Apple plans to release its AirPods for AI, codenamed B798, alongside the launch of its foldable and new iPhones next month. This means the AI AirPods would likely be supported by the new and improved Siri, which Apple finally unveiled at WWDC in May and is also slated to launch in September.
Gurman mentioned that the AirPods' cameras will not actually be used to capture content, but will instead provide context to the AI, a major differentiator from the most popular AI wearable at the moment, the Meta Ray-Bans.
While the Meta smart glasses work similarly, feeding its Meta AI app with context from your cameras to better answer questions when prompted, the company has received significant backlash for enabling the unauthorized recording of strangers as well as privacy concerns with Meta's handling of user data. Gurman reported that these concerns have caused Apple to postpone its own smart glasses release. So while pulling the video feed from your ears rather than from the two cameras on the sides of your glasses introduces possible hair obstruction, the upside of not seeming like a creep or being able to record could be worth the tradeoff for both users and Apple. MacRumors also reported that when hair blocks the AirPods' cameras, an error will appear warning users that it has detected hair and saying, "To get the most accurate information about things in your environment, make sure AirPods are not covered," which may help minimize the inconvenience.
Our Deeper View #
I have tested nearly every pair of AI smart glasses on the market because I truly think that the best way to make AI useful is to have it break out of your computer screen and become immersed in your real life. However, some of my biggest challenges are the discomfort I feel in public when people see I have cameras on my frames, and having to commit to bulkier glasses than I typically use. It also means I don't have the tech available when I choose to wear contacts. AirPods with cameras address both of these issues because, on a typical day, most AirPods users are already used to wearing them for hours. If Apple keeps the same form factor, they should be just as comfortable and also less obvious that there are cameras. This would be problematic if they could record, but since they're just using it for context, it makes things a bit better. Another bonus is Apple's focus on privacy and security, particularly with Private Cloud Compute.