Apple just reached a major milestone in its development of AirPods with cameras, a new report says.
Bloomberg reports today that Apple’s work on AirPods with built-in cameras has “entered a phase where prototypes feature a near-final design and capabilities.”
There will be a camera in both the right and left earbuds, according to the report. The cameras, however, won’t be used for photo or video capture. Instead, they’ll serve as the “the eyes” for Siri and will capture the environment around a user in low resolution.
The idea is to let users ask questions about an item they might be looking at. For instance, they could be facing food ingredients and ask what they should cook for dinner. It’s a similar experience to what someone gets from uploading photos in AI services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or the iPhone’s own Visual Intelligence function.
Apple has also been working on other uses for the AI cameras. The device could give the wearer a reminder based on something the camera sees, or it might use external visuals to provide more advanced turn-by-turn directions. The AI could cite a specific landmark ahead when telling users when they should turn.
These AirPods are said to feature longer stems than normal AirPods Pro to accommodate the cameras. Otherwise, they’ll look largely the same.
The AirPods with cameras will include a small LED that will “turn on when visual data is being fed into the cloud.”
The AirPods are said to be in advanced testing, with testers inside Apple using prototypes in the “design validation testing,” or DVT, stage of development. The next and final stage is “production validation testing,” or PVT. This is when Apple will begin early mass production of the product.
In terms of a release date, Bloomberg says Apple had planned for a launch as early as the first half of this year. That launch was postponed due to continued delays impacting Apple’s next-generation version of Siri. The AirPods have been in development inside Apple for four years.
Apple is reportedly expecting “strong demand” for AirPods with cameras and is working on secure components for mass production.
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