They’re both earpods and eye-pods.
Apple appears to have accidentally leaked footage of its yet-to-be-released camera-equipped AirPods, spawning backlash from viewers concerned about the product’s potential to violate people’s privacy. A clip of the premature product demo has amassed 4.6 million views on X.
The wireless earbuds, which were tipped off by Bloomberg back in May, are similar to current AirPods Pro models but with tiny cameras embedded in the stems.
These transmit low-resolution images to Apple’s AI-powered Siri assistant, which then analyzes them in real-time using a feature called Visual Intelligence, ostensibly helping users with tasks such as remembering names of things and turn-by-turn walking directions.
While techsperts predicted that the devices would launch in September, viewers got an unauthorized first look via a video demo embedded in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate, MacRumors reported. In the viral snippet, a man wearing AirPods holds a book up so the devices can see the title.
“With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable,” a Siri voiceover intones. “See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later.”
As these tiny body cameras aren’t visible, it’s yet unclear if the products depicted are the new Airpods, which Engadget predicts will be officially announced at Apple’s iPhone 18 event that’s expected to go down next month.
Others expressed concern that the device’s capacity to record people against their will.
However, the inadvertent unveiling caught Apple fans by surprise, with one X critic calling the leak “insane” while another quipped, “someone is getting fired.”
“Are they trying to beat Flock for most hated mass surveillance cameras?” exclaimed one commenter.
“Why would airpods need cameras?” fumed another. “What is your people’s problem with adding a camera to f–king everything?”
“What amazing advances in pervert technologies,” snarked one naysayer. “Truly a golden age to be a stalker.”
Bloomberg previously reported that the AirPods would have a special indicator so the public knows when the devices are recording.
Nonetheless, this might not be enough to quell privacy concerns plaguing Apple, which is rumored to release its first smart glasses as soon as late 2027.
Code-named N50, these surveillance shades will compete with the recording specs released by Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta and will feature more cutting-edge cameras capable of capturing photos and video.