Apple Reportedly Developing AirPods with Tiny Infrared Cameras for AI and Spatial Audio

Apple may launch AirPods with infrared cameras by 2026, enhancing AI, spatial audio, and gesture controls.
Matilda
Apple Reportedly Developing AirPods with Tiny Infrared Cameras for AI and Spatial Audio
Apple continues to explore the idea of adding tiny cameras to future AirPods, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.        Image: Google Gurman briefly reiterated this possibility in his report this week about Apple executive Mike Rockwell becoming the new head of Siri development: Rockwell's experience with hardware also could help the company more deeply embed AI into its future devices. Already, the company is exploring the idea of AirPods with outward-facing cameras that could feed data to AI. The cameras would technically be infrared sensors. In a June 2024 blog post, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple planned to mass produce new AirPods with infrared cameras by 2026. He said the infrared camera component would be similar to the iPhone's Face ID receiver. Kuo said the new AirPods with infrared cameras would provide an enhanced spatial audio experience with Apple's Vision Pro headset. "For example, when a user is watching a video with Vision Pro and w…