Apple is working on camera-equipped AirPods that appear nearly ready to launch, based on a short demo video found in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate.
In the clip, a man holds a book up so the AirPods’ camera can see the title. The voiceover text in the demo reads: “With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later.” A tweet from Aaron (@aaronp613) on August 18, 2026 included the video and the caption: “Here is your first look at AirPods with Cameras in action using Visual Intelligence. This video file came from macOS 26.7 RC pic.twitter.com/yo7RI4MCeu.”
Camera-equipped AirPods and Visual Intelligence
The demo shows the AirPods’ camera feeding information to Visual Intelligence. Siri is shown as able to answer questions about the wearer’s surroundings and to log information, and the software references setting up Visual Intelligence on the AirPods. The system will also issue an alert if something obstructs the cameras: “To get the most accurate information about things in your environment, make sure AirPods are not covered.”
Codename and possible launch timing
The camera-equipped AirPods carry the internal codename B790. That codename was previously mentioned by Mark Gurman, who suggested the product could launch as soon as September, potentially at an iPhone-focused event where Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and a foldable iPhone Ultra. macOS Tahoe 26.7 contains multiple other mentions of the B790 product and references to a long list of other unreleased Apple products.
