AirPods Ultra · Software

In-air hand gestures could control the earbuds

Hand gestures could make AirPods Ultra feel more natural by letting you control playback, answer calls, or interact with Siri without touching the earbuds. The problem is that Apple’s two most reliable sources disagree on whether the feature is actually coming, making it one of the roadmap’s least certain predictions.

1 min readUpdated Sep 22, 2026

AirPods Ultra Guide
Reported
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5 outlets

What to know

What to know

AirPods Ultra could let you control the earbuds by waving your hand in the air, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He said the earbuds' infrared cameras could make this possible.

Gestures could handle things like answering a call or skipping a track. But Bloomberg's Mark Gurman later said he does not expect the AirPods to support hand gestures.

Apple has not announced the feature.

How we know this

How we know this

What changed, newest first.

Aug 20, 2026Tom's GuideIn-air gesture control was floated by Kuo in July 2024, and only as a possibility
Apr 30, 2026Ming-Chi Kuo via Tom's GuideSays infrared cameras could enable in-air gesture control+1 outlet
Apr 30, 2026MacRumorsPerson with direct knowledgeSays the camera-equipped AirPods are not expected to support hand gestures
Oct 13, 2025Cult of Mac+1 outlet
Reported

Frequently asked

Frequently asked

Will AirPods Ultra support hand gestures?
Maybe later. Infrared cameras could enable gestures for calls and playback, but reports suggest gesture control may not be in the first generation. The stem squeeze likely continues.

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