Kuo: Apple will begin mass production of AirPods with cameras by 2026

According to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple aims to begin mass production of new “AirPods with camera modules” by 2026. This report follows Bloomberg also noted Apple’s plans to develop AirPods with cameras in February.

According to Kuo, these new AirPods will feature an infrared camera similar to the one used in the Face ID module on iPhones and iPads. Apple’s goal is for the camera-equipped AirPods to integrate with Vision Pro and future Apple Vision headsets:

The new AirPods are expected to be used with Vision Pro and future Apple headsets to improve the spatial audio user experience and strengthen the spatial computing ecosystem. For example, when a user is watching a video with Vision Pro and wearing these new AirPods, if they turn their head to look in a specific direction, the sound source in that direction can be emphasized to improve the spatial audio/computing experience .

Additionally, the report says the AirPods’ infrared camera could detect environmental image changes, “potentially enabling in-air gesture control to improve human-device interaction.”

Kuo notes that Foxconn is the “new product supplier (NPI) for the infrared camera that will be used with AirPods.” Foxconn reportedly has an annual capacity plan of 18 to 20 million units, or about 10 million pairs of AirPods.

In February, Bloomberg Mark Gurman reported that AirPods with cameras are just one of the wearable form factor ideas Apple is exploring. The company is also exploring smart glasses similar to the Ray-Bans Meta as well as a smart ring, as well as a future version of the Apple Watch.

9to5Mac’s review

I think there’s more to this story than the Vision Pro example Kuo mentioned. While integration with Vision Pro makes sense as a feature, I don’t expect these new camera-equipped AirPods to be entirely focused on Vision Pro. I suspect Apple has plenty of other ideas for how these AirPods could work with powerful multimodal voice and image AI systems.