The camera-equipped AirPods we’ve confirmed Apple is working on will likely be part of the AirPods Pro line rather than the separate “AirPods Ultra.”
A macOS Tahoe 26.7 file referencing the new AirPods is titled “AirPods Pro,” hinting at the new name. It’s possible that this is a placeholder name, so AirPods Ultra isn’t entirely out of the question, but given that Apple put a full video of the new AirPods in the software, there’s not really a need for a placeholder.
BloombergMark Gurman’s Mark Gurman said in March that Apple was considering several devices with the Ultra name, including the foldable iPhone Ultra, AirPods Ultra, and an Ultra OLED MacBook, but that may not be a term we see for the new AirPods. He suggested that Apple might use the name because the camera-equipped AirPods are expected to be more expensive than the $249 AirPods Pro 3, so Apple’s “Pro” choice might also indicate that the price won’t be too far off from the current model.
Rumors about camera-equipped AirPods have been a bit confusing, and that could explain possible naming discrepancies. Most of the rumors about AirPods with a camera involved a product codenamed B798. In June, Gurman said the camera AirPods had been delayed due to issues with Siri AI and would not launch until September 2027 alongside the 20th anniversary iPhone.
In early August, Gurman revised his launch schedule and said that Apple was close to launching camera-enabled AirPods codenamed B790. The B790 AirPods had apparently progressed alongside the B798 model, and Gurman said the company “notoriously creates competing versions of the same product internally”, with the B790 being closer to launch than the B798.
It’s unclear if there are any differences between the B790 and B798 products that Apple has been working on, but it looks like we’ll see AirPods with a camera this year. The AirPods video in macOS Tahoe 26.7 suggests that the device is almost ready to launch.
The AirPods’ camera will not be used to capture photos and videos and will instead provide visual information to Siri AI for an easier-to-use version of Visual Intelligence.
