Apple could launch camera-equipped versions of its Apple Watch and AirPods as soon as 2027, reports Bloomberg.
The report says Apple’s new chip, codenamed “Nevis,” will be used for its camera-equipped Apple Watch, while another new chip, codenamed “Glennie,” will be used in the AirPods. Apple is working to have the chips ready for prime time “by around 2027.” If the chips are available early enough in the year, a launch could occur that same year.
In June 2024, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple planned to sell new AirPods with infrared cameras by 2026. He indicated that the infrared camera component would be similar to the iPhone’s Face ID receiver and 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 wearing this new AirPods, if users turn their heads to look in a specific direction, the sound source in that direction can be emphasized to enhance the spatial audio/computing experience,” wrote Kuo.
In March of this year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Apple is still exploring the use of tiny cameras in future AirPods models, and that the cameras would likely make an appearance as infrared sensors. Gurman has suggested that Apple is mulling over cameras that would “feed data to AI.”
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch could incorporate a camera in the screen area in a future edition of the Watch, while an upcoming version of the Apple Watch Ultra could have a camera near the Digital Crown. The cameras would allow Apple Watch wearers to use Visual Intelligence features to obtain information about their surroundings.
