Who Leaked the Camera AirPods? Apple Itself, in macOS
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The clearest leak yet about Apple's camera AirPods did not come from an analyst or a supply-chain mole. It came from Apple itself, through a demo video left inside the macOS Tahoe 26.7 Release Candidate. Yes, you read that right: Cupertino spilled its own secret.
Camera AirPods, revealed by Apple's own software
MacRumors spotted the clip, which developer Aaron Perris then shared on X. In it, a man wears earbuds nearly identical to the AirPods Pro, with a slightly thicker stem.
With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later.
He lifts a book, and Siri's voice explains that Visual Intelligence can save it for later. Per early reports, the cameras would act as eyes for the assistant.
B790, the codename behind these camera AirPods
The software ties the demo to an unreleased product known as B790. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says this model could ship as soon as late 2026, possibly at September's iPhone 18 event.
A second version, B798, would target 2027 instead. One fun detail: an alert would warn you if hair blocks the cameras, and an LED would light up whenever images travel to the cloud.
A shot at Meta's Ray-Ban glasses?
These earbuds would take no photos and no videos. They would capture low-resolution frames reserved for Siri and Visual Intelligence, the opposite of Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, which record and share without shame.
That philosophy fits Apple's rumored camera-free smart glasses planned for 2027. Our take: one month before the expected iPhone 18 launch, this looks like a very badly timed slip. Nothing is official, but the calendar almost speaks for itself.
When could the camera AirPods launch?
No official date exists. The B790 model could be announced as soon as September 2026 at the iPhone 18 event, while the more advanced B798 version would target late 2027.
Will the camera AirPods take photos?
No, per current leaks. The cameras would only send low-resolution images to Siri and Visual Intelligence, with no traditional photo or video capture.