Apple Accidentally Leaks Demo Of Camera-Infused AirPods With AI Vision

Developers and beta testers have started to receive a release candidate of macOS Tahoe 26.7, and this upcoming version’s code base holds a lot of juicy tidbits regarding unannounced Apple products, including camera equipped AirPods. However, it’s not just snippets of code that point to the existence of these earbuds, the resourceful folks at MacRumors also uncovered a video of them in action that was included as part of the OS.

A reference to a device with the codename B790 was spotted within a snippet of code in the release candidate, which says, "B790 start image stream failed for left bud." This lines up with previously reported rumors that the company has been working on a new pair of AirPods that will use low-resolution cameras to enable Siri powered AI features directly on the buds, without the need for an iPhone.

For those concerned about potential privacy issues, it should be noted that these AI AirPods aren’t designed to be taking continues video or snapping pictures, only for getting a basic analysis of a wearer’s environment. So, they won’t be positioned as some sort of competitor to devices such as Meta’s smart glasses. Additionally, lights indicating when the cameras are in use will also be included for transparency.

The code alone isn’t all we have to go on, either. A demo video of these new headphones was included as part of the OS release. The video shows a man wearing the AirPods and holding a book while Siri informs the wearer that “with Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later.”

Although if you don’t need cameras or AI in your headphones then you can pick up the already available AirPods Pro 3, which are an excellent set of headphones, for a discounted price of $189.99 (24% off).