AirPods are about to get weird - a top insider just backed one strange rumor

The AirPods Pro 2. | Image Credit - PhoneArena

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has something curious about a future AirPods tech to share with us.

Apple just announced bad news for its fans: the promised advanced, contextual Siri was just a mirage (well, or at least, it's not right in front of us just yet). We're also repetitively seeing a strange new look reportedly planned for the new iPhone 17 Pro and the ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air.

Now, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports about yet another curious move by the company, this time about AirPods: Apple seems to want to slap cameras on the earbuds. Of course, that's not the same as overpromising and underdelivering but it's also a little bit bizarre if anything.

AirPods with cameras. The tech may not be ready to show up with the AirPods Pro 3 which is expected to launch this year, but reportedly, it's being worked on.

What would that be used for? Well, Gurman suggests a Visual Intelligence-like integration.

The iPhone 16, apart from promising fancy Apple Intelligence features (yes, I'm still sulking about Siri, alright?) also came with Camera Control. The new button, positioned on the right of the device, is great - it can take photos more easily and allows you to adjust camera settings. But also, gives you access to Visual Intelligence.

Visual Intelligence is a tool that allows you to learn stuff about the world around you. Also, it lets you take action based on your physical context: like, snapping a photo of a flyer and then adding the event to your calendar, or harnessing ChatGPT's powers to learn about something you're seeing.

Gurman seems to suggest a similar integration would be brought to AirPods. If it looks strange to you, it did so to me too, but hear this: the new version of the AirPods Pro (still rumored) may be using external cameras and AI to understand the world around you and provide you info. Like, smart glasses, in a way, but stuck in your ears, not perched on your nose.

This may be just another way Apple tries to take a lead in the Artificial Intelligence race (or at least, win back some ground after being behind spectacularly). Potentially, you'd be able to ask Siri about your surroundings, without needing to take your iPhone out of your pocket. That sounds sweet, alright, but before I see it, I'm not believing it, to be frank.

Meanwhile, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously claimed Apple may use these cameras on AirPods for integration with other products. For one, for better spatial awareness while listening to audio with Apple Vision Pro, Apple's AR/VR glasses.

Kuo gives an example if the user is watching a video with Vision Pro and wearing those camera-equipped AirPods, the sound source of where your head is turned towards may adapt to enhance the spatial audio experience. Yep, this possibility sounds a bit odd, but Kuo is a reputable figure in the world of Apple leaks and rumors, hence, we're mentioning it.

Also, the cameras in the AirPods may enable gesture controls from the air, according to Kuo. Well, as far as you don't have long hair that's not tied, that is.

According to Gurman, that somewhat mysterious tech may not be ready for an official introduction until 2027, at the earliest. This suggests it may come with the AirPods Pro 4, or later.

Meanwhile, we're now waiting for the AirPods Pro 3, the successor of the AirPods Pro 2. Rumor has it we'll see the new pro-earbuds this year, but not much is known about them just yet. They may or may not come with temperature sensors and a supercharged chip.