Apple May Have Leaked Its Biggest AirPods Upgrade In Years

Technology leaks happen all the time, but rarely by the company working on the product. However, Apple appears to have mistakenly leaked its own camera-equipped AirPods. A short demo video hidden inside the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate shows the long-rumored earbuds in action for the first time, and it suggests the product is much closer to launch (via MacRumors).

In the clip, a man wearing AirPods holds a book up so the built-in camera can see the title (shown below). "With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later," the voiceover says. It's unclear precisely what happens next. Presumably, the camera feeds what it sees to Visual Intelligence, Apple's AI feature that identifies objects and answers questions about your surroundings, and Siri can then respond to queries about whatever you're looking at or log the information for later.

While the clip doesn't show the new AirPods in detail or the camera specifically, the stem appears slightly thicker than the current AirPods Pro 3, suggesting these are an unreleased AirPods model. Apple has been rumored to be developing AirPods with built-in cameras for years, but until now, the evidence has come from analysts, supply chain leaks, and code fragments. This is Apple's own marketing material, sitting inside shipping software.

The macOS beta software contains more than the video. Additional strings from the build shared by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris describe an error message titled "Hair Detected" that would presumably appear when long hair blocks the camera. "To get the most accurate information about things in your environment, make sure [your] AirPods are not covered," the alert reads. A camera that sits in your ear will spend plenty of time behind hair, hats, and hoods, and Apple has evidently planned for that.

In the macOS beta build where this was found, there are also references to a feature called Secure Pairing, instructing users to "Please put your AirPods in [their] case to continue Secure Pairing." Nothing in the beta software explains how the process works, though a dedicated security step makes sense for earbuds that capture visual data from the world around you.

Bloomberg has reported that the cameras will gather low-resolution images for AI processing and will not be able to take regular photos or videos. The idea of earbuds with built-in cameras has already raised privacy concerns among users worried about being recorded by strangers. An always-on capture indicator, as Bloomberg has described, would go some way toward assuaging those fears. Presumably Apple's new pairing flow will in some way help to alleviate these privacy concerns.

Apple's upcoming AirPods allegedly carry the codename B790, an identifier Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported earlier this month as the version of the camera AirPods closest to production. At that time, Gurman said the AirPods model could launch as soon as September, ahead of a more advanced model, codenamed B798, that isn't expected until 2027. The macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate — which should publicly roll out in the coming weeks if Apple follows its usual schedule — contains multiple other mentions of B790, seemingly confirming this September launch event.

That timing lines up with Apple's expected iPhone launch event next month — an event that typically takes place in September. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max alongside its first foldable iPhone, thought to be called the iPhone Ultra. That being said, Apple hasn't announced the camera-equipped AirPods, and there's no official name, price, or release date yet.