Apple’s AirPods with cameras for AI are apparently close to production

苹果公司配备摄像头的 AI AirPods 似乎已接近量产阶段

Apple’s rumored AirPods with cameras are nearing a stage where the company will test early mass production, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports. Currently, Apple testers are “actively using” prototypes that are in the design validation test stage, which is one step before the production validation test stage.

据彭博社记者马克·古尔曼（Mark Gurman）报道，传闻中配备摄像头的苹果 AirPods 正接近早期量产测试阶段。目前，苹果的测试人员正在“积极使用”处于设计验证测试（DVT）阶段的原型机，该阶段距离生产验证测试（PVT）仅一步之遥。

The AirPods’ cameras “aren’t designed” to snap photos or video but instead can take in “visual information in low resolution” that users can query Siri about, like asking the AI assistant what they should cook with the ingredients they have in front of them, according to Gurman. They may also use the cameras to help with things like turn-by-turn directions.

据古尔曼称，这些 AirPods 的摄像头并非为了拍摄照片或视频而设计，而是用于获取“低分辨率的视觉信息”，用户可以就此向 Siri 进行咨询。例如，询问 AI 助手眼前的食材可以烹饪什么菜肴。此外，这些摄像头还可能用于辅助导航等功能。

These new AirPods will look like the AirPods Pro 3 but have longer stems due to the camera technology, Gurman says. The AirPods will have a “small” LED light to indicate when “visual data is being fed into the cloud.” Apple apparently wanted to launch the new AirPods as early as sometime in the first half of 2026, but that was pushed following delays to its upgraded Siri. Gurman says the improved Siri is “on track” to hit in September — perhaps these new AirPods will launch around that same timeframe. (The AirPods Pro 3 were announced and released in September 2025.)

古尔曼表示，新款 AirPods 的外观将与 AirPods Pro 3 相似，但由于采用了摄像头技术，其耳机柄会更长。耳机上将配有一个“小型”LED 指示灯，用于提示“视觉数据正在上传至云端”。据悉，苹果原计划最早在 2026 年上半年发布这款新耳机，但由于升级版 Siri 的开发延期，发布计划被迫推迟。古尔曼称，改进后的 Siri 预计将于 9 月推出，或许这款新 AirPods 也会在同一时间段发布。（AirPods Pro 3 已于 2025 年 9 月发布。）

Apple’s push into AI-infused gadgets will put it in competition with Meta, which has had success with its smart glasses, and might give the company a leg up on OpenAI, which is reportedly making a phone. Apple is also developing smart glasses and an AI pendant that could launch as soon as early 2027, according to Gurman.

苹果在 AI 智能设备领域的发力将使其与 Meta 展开竞争，后者在智能眼镜领域已取得成功；此举也可能让苹果在与 OpenAI（据传正在研发手机）的竞争中占据优势。据古尔曼透露，苹果目前还在开发智能眼镜和 AI 挂件，最早可能于 2027 年初推出。