In May, Bloomberg reported that Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods Pro had reached “advanced” testing and could be heading toward early mass production. As someone who has used both AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3, I was looking forward to them.
This week, a leaker has contradicted that. Kosutami, a prototype collector and occasional Apple leaker, posted on X that the project has been “suspended.” No additional details were provided. The post appeared to correct an earlier June update in which Kosutami had described the product’s development “case” as “concluded,” suggesting the revision was meaningful (via MacRumors).
So what were the camera AirPods Pro actually supposed to do?
The built-in cameras weren’t for photos or videos. They were designed exclusively to feed visual information about a wearer’s surroundings to none other than Apple’s AI assistant, Siri. Think of it as giving Siri eyes that see from your ears.
The leaker first claimed in February that infrared cameras would allow the AirPods Pro to connect with Apple Intelligence. Other reliable sources later corroborated that claim. The product has reportedly been in development for around four years.
In fact, Apple reportedly targeted a first-half 2026 launch. That window has already passed.
Could Siri be what’s killing this product?
The reason for the repeated delays, as far as I can tell, could be Siri itself. Bloomberg previously noted that Apple could hold back the AirPods if it wasn’t satisfied with the quality of its Visual Intelligence features, similar to how it handled Siri’s AI rollout.
The ongoing memory chip shortage may also have played a role. One important caveat: Kosutami’s track record isn’t as clean. They correctly predicted the iPhone 16 Pro’s metal-enclosed battery about 10 months before launch, but their claims that the AirPods Pro 3 would be imminent in August 2024 didn’t pan out.
From where I’m seeing this, suspended could mean delayed; it could also mean canceled. Only Apple knows which one is true.
