Apple is reportedly suspending development of its rumored camera-equipped AirPods Pro, according to popular Apple leaker Kosutami. These new AirPods were reportedly in development for about four years.
Case concluded. https://t.co/dqrOwDSfa9
— Kosutami (@Kosutami_Ito) June 15, 2026
Back in February, Kosutami claimed that the Cupertino tech giant was working on a pair of high-tech earbuds featuring built-in infrared (IR) cameras, kind of like the ones in your iPhone"s FaceID system. Despite this extra hardware, Kosutami at the time said that Apple would maintain the price of the earbuds at $249. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said that Apple planned for supplier Foxconn to mass-produce these specialized IR camera modules.
The built-in cameras were supposed to be the key to new touchless controls, letting you swipe your hand in the air to skip a track or pinch to answer calls. Other things the camera could do include precision room-mapping to calibrate spatial audio for your Vision Pro headset, alongside functioning as a visual input for Apple Intelligence. You could double-tap your AirPods and ask Siri what you are looking at, like asking "what can I cook for dinner with this" when staring at kitchen ingredients.
Speaking of Apple Intelligence, last month, at WWDC, Apple unveiled an improved version of Siri called Siri AI (partially powered by Gemini) that can handle complex tasks across various applications. For instance, Siri AI can locate a specific photo from your weekend trip and place it directly into a folder. It also reads your screen to add a texted address to a contact card, while summarizing active message threads. Finally, the assistant coordinates custom automation scripts inside the Shortcuts app.
Siri AI is not yet out for the public to try, but the iOS 27 Public Beta will introduce these capabilities to early testers probably mid this month, going by historical release schedules. Apple typically drops the first public beta around mid-July.