2026 is the 10th anniversary of the original Apple AirPods that debuted on September 7 2016 alongside the iPhone 7 — and that could mean a special surprise for Apple's true wireless earbuds line.
Reporting from folks like Mark Gurman at Bloomberg point to a new model called the AirPods Ultra that will leverage a new H3 chip, built-in cameras and Apple Intelligence to detect objects around you.
So, what exactly do we know about these futuristic earbuds? Here's a full breakdown.
AirPods Ultra: Potential release date
The earliest reports of a camera-equipped pair of AirPods came from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a report dated July 1 2024, Kuo said that "the cameras can detect changes in the environment" and could "potentially enable in-air gesture control to enhance human-device interaction."
The legend of the camera-equipped AirPods Ultra has only grown from there.
These days, the person who seems to know the most about the AirPods Ultra is Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in January of 2025, Gurman said in a newsletter that Apple was “exploring other types of wearable products” that included a pair of AirPods that could come with miniature infrared cameras. Back in June, he said that we're likely looking at a 2027 release date. This was then repeated in a post on X.
Less qualified folks have said that Apple might unveil them at this September's iPhone 18 event, but I'm not entirely convinced. Apple is rarely in a rush to release a product, especially one as potentially complex as the AirPods Ultra are rumored to be.
AirPods Ultra: Potential features
So what are the AirPods Ultra going to do different from the current-gen AirPods Pro 3? Well, it turns out, quite a lot.
As far as we know right now, there are two different models in the works: There's a B790 model and a B798 model. The former is closer to launch than the latter, and it's unlikely that both will debut at the same time.
On the outside of the earbuds will be IR cameras that can scan objects around you using Apple's Visual Intelligence. (If you have long hair that impedes the view of one of these cameras, the earbuds will ask you to move it to the side.)
A video purportedly found in the latest macOS Tahoe 26.7 software shows what this could look like in action.
The AirPods Ultra's IR cameras are, reportedly, lower resolution than Meta's AR glasses and will feature a light-up LED that will turn on when it's scanning, which should mean that they'll be less of a privacy concern than other wearables we've seen lately.
There are a number of potential uses for IR-enabled earbuds, including proximity detection to other people that can improve ANC functionality.
To power this functionality would be a new H3 chip. Little is known about it other than the fact that it is the key driver of the deeper Apple Intelligence integration. Better processors usually enable better noise cancelling, however, so expect to see that as a feature Apple touts sometime in the future, too.
AirPods Ultra: Potential price
All this cutting-edge tech isn't likely to come cheap. A fair assumption right out of the gate is that the AirPods Ultra will cost more than the current-generation AirPods Pro 3 that currently sit at $249 / £249 / AU$429.
I would not be surprised if Apple charged $349, which would be $100 more than the AirPods Pro 3. There is some wiggle room if Apple wants to increase the sticker price of its new earbuds: Two of the AirPods' biggest rivals, the Sony WF-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2, cost $299.
For now, all we can do is prognosticate what Apple will do with pricing as the AirPods Ultra are truly a one-of-a-kind device that doesn't really match up with anything on the market at the moment.
AirPods Ultra outlook: Why I'm skeptical
The AirPods Ultra do sound like an extremely inventive innovation in the world of wireless earbuds. The ability for a pair of earbuds to detect objects around a user has major implications for the future of wearable technology.
However, I have two major reservations about the AirPods Ultra.
The first is that it's unlike Apple to jump first when it comes to launching a new type of product. Apple wasn't the first AR glasses manufacturer, for instance, and it certainly wasn't the first to make an MP3 player or laptop. What Apple usually does is that it lets competitors lead and then presents a more elegant solution.
Even if the AirPods Ultra are production-ready, that doesn't mean Apple will put them out without waiting for something else on the market first.
I'm also skeptical about the cameras themselves. Apple paints itself as extremely privacy focused. Putting cameras on a pair of earbuds flies in the face of that stance. Unless there are some serious limitations of the technology (like the only data it collects are IR images), it'll be hard for Apple to keep its privacy-first reputation.
But if Apple finds the balance between features and privacy, locks in at a reasonable price and gets developers on board, the AirPods Ultra could truly be the next big thing in wireless earbuds.
