Apple’s plans to integrate infrared cameras into a future AirPods Pro model have been put on hold, according to a brief update from a source familiar with the project. The shift delays a feature that was expected to use environmental sensing to support Siri AI capabilities.
Camera-equipped AirPods Pro delayed
As recently as May, industry watchers anticipated that the next-generation AirPods Pro would ship with built-in cameras and could be unveiled as early as September. Those earbuds were reportedly in the final stages of development, with a launch originally aligned with analyst forecasts pointing to a 2026 debut. The hardware was intended to capture visual information about the user’s surroundings and feed that data to Siri AI, enabling more context-aware voice assistance.
The renewed timeline surfaced after leaker Kosutami, who had previously corroborated Ming-Chi Kuo’s 2024 claims about camera-equipped AirPods Pro, posted a single-word update on X indicating the effort has been “suspended.” No further explanation was provided, leaving the reasoning behind the delay unclear.
Project suspended, not cancelled
Despite the pause, the initiative does not appear to be permanently scrapped. The status as a suspension suggests Apple may resume development at a later date, though its current product roadmap no longer includes a launch in the immediate future. For consumers, that means the anticipated September event is unlikely to feature a camera-enabled version of the AirPods Pro.
In the same timeframe, attention has shifted to another long-rumored device: Apple’s first foldable iPhone. Supply-chain reports indicate the company has prepared for significant initial demand.
Foldable iPhone on the horizon
The foldable model, tentatively referred to as the iPhone Ultra, is expected to be positioned as a premium-tier device carrying a correspondingly high price. Apple has reportedly scaled manufacturing to approximately 10 million units, a figure that signals internal confidence in the product’s market performance. Additionally, early development work on a second-generation foldable, the iPhone Ultra 2, is already believed to be underway.
The removal of camera-laden AirPods Pro from the near-term launch calendar recalibrates expectations around Apple’s wearable AI ambitions, even as the company presses forward with new form factors in its smartphone lineup.
Sources: x.com, asia.nikkei.com