Roadmap
AirPods Ultra
Updated June 18, 2026
AirPods Ultra is Apple's first wearable AI product. The cameras embedded in each stem will not take photos. They will give Siri eyes. Infrared sensors feed real-time visual data about your surroundings to a rebuilt Siri, letting you ask about the world in front of you without reaching for your phone. Look at ingredients on a counter and ask what to cook. Look at a street corner and get walking directions. The earbuds do not see for you. They see for Siri.
This is also why the product has been delayed twice. Apple originally targeted the first half of 2026, then shifted to September 2026 alongside the iPhone Ultra, then pushed to late 2027 when its AI software fell behind. The cameras are near-final. DVT prototypes with a near-final design were in active internal testing by May 2026. The hardware is ready. The Siri visual intelligence model needs to identify real-world objects in real time. That is what Apple needs to get right first.
Bloomberg reported in June 2026 that all three devices in Apple's late-2027 wave are being tested together on iOS 28: AirPods Ultra, the 20th anniversary iPhone, and the second-generation foldable iPhone. The AirPods Ultra codename is B798. The branding is almost certainly AirPods Ultra, not AirPods Pro 4, fitting Apple's 2026 expansion of the Ultra tier across Watch, iPhone, MacBook, and now AirPods. At a likely $299–$349, it sits $50–$100 above AirPods Pro 3 and will be sold alongside it, not as its replacement.
Expected
Late 2027
Confidence
Rumored
Est. price
$299-$349 (est.)
Latest news
All in Tracker →Quick answers
When will AirPods Ultra be released?
Late 2027. Bloomberg confirmed this in June 2026, placing the launch alongside the 20th anniversary iPhone and second-generation foldable iPhone. All three products are being tested on iOS 28. Apple originally targeted 2026 but delays in its Siri AI software pushed the timeline back. Gurman notes timing remains fluid and could change.
MacRumorsWhat do the cameras on AirPods Ultra actually do?
They give Siri visual context about your surroundings. The infrared cameras, one in each stem, are not for taking photos or video. They scan your environment and feed that data to Siri so you can ask questions about what you are looking at. Recipe suggestions from kitchen ingredients, walking directions from street corners, object identification. Apple calls this capability Visual Intelligence.
TechSpotWhat type of cameras are in AirPods Ultra?
Infrared sensors comparable to Face ID modules, not RGB cameras. Low-resolution, designed for object and environment identification rather than image capture. Kuo originally described them in June 2024 as similar to the iPhone Face ID receiver, not the transmitter. The stems will be slightly longer than current AirPods Pro to accommodate the sensor modules.
Apple World TodayBuy now or wait?
AirPods Pro 3 owners: save your money. AirPods Ultra is 18+ months away, and AirPods Pro 3 is still the best ANC earbuds Apple makes. The camera feature adds AI context to Siri. It is not a sound quality upgrade. Your Pro 3s will work fine with iOS 28 when it ships.
No AirPods or broken earbuds: buy AirPods Pro 3 now. $249 MSRP, consistently available for $199 at Amazon. Best-in-class ANC, spatial audio, and ecosystem integration. No reason to sit out an entire product category for 18 months waiting for a new tier.
Considering Meta Ray-Ban glasses: these are fundamentally different products. Ray-Ban has 12MP cameras that take real photos and 3K video. AirPods Ultra infrared cameras produce no viewable images. They are AI sensor inputs only. If you want a camera wearable that captures shareable media, Ray-Ban is the current answer. If you want Siri to see your surroundings discreetly, AirPods Ultra is the Apple play.
Compare
Price
$249
$299-$349 (est.)
Availability
Available now
Late 2027
Chip
H2
H3 (expected)
Cameras
None
Infrared in both stems (not for photos)
Visual AI
No
Yes, Siri Visual Intelligence
Privacy indicator
N/A
Yes, lights when cameras active
Gesture control
Stem squeeze only
Not confirmed (stem squeeze likely continues)
Battery
Up to 6 hrs + 24 hrs case
TBD (H3 more efficient)
ANC
Yes, class-leading
Improved (H3 chip)
Spatial audio
Yes, Personalized Spatial Audio
Yes, enhanced with environmental awareness
Health sensors
Heart rate, hearing health
TBD, heart rate expected to continue
Ecosystem
iPhone / Apple ecosystem
iPhone / Apple ecosystem (iOS 28+)
Status
Available now
Expected late 2027
Reported features
Infrared cameras in both stems, confirmed in development by Bloomberg
Both the left and right earbud will have cameras in the stems, with slightly longer stems than current AirPods Pro to accommodate the sensor modules. The cameras are infrared, similar to Face ID receiver modules. Low-resolution, designed for object and environment identification, not photo or video capture.
Visual Intelligence integration, Siri answers questions about what cameras see
The cameras feed visual information about the surroundings to Siri via Visual Intelligence. Users can ask about objects they are looking at. Example use cases: identifying ingredients on a counter for recipe suggestions, and enhanced walking directions based on real-time environmental awareness. The cameras do not save or transmit images. They serve as live context for Siri queries only.
LED indicator on each earbud, lights when cameras are transmitting
A small external LED on each earbud activates whenever cameras are transmitting data. Visible to people nearby. The same signaling approach Apple uses on Vision Pro for EyeSight. Confirmed by Gurman in May 2026.
Late 2027 launch, delayed twice from original 2026 target
Bloomberg confirmed late 2027 in June 2026. Apple originally targeted the first half of 2026, then September 2026 alongside the iPhone Ultra event, then pushed to late 2027. The delay driver: Apple needed to build visual AI models capable of identifying real-world objects in real time. Hardware reached DVT stage by May 2026. The delay is purely software.
Tested on iOS 28 alongside 20th anniversary iPhone and foldable iPhone
Bloomberg June 2026 report confirms all three late-2027 devices are being tested together on iOS 28 (codename Bell): AirPods Ultra (B798), 20th anniversary iPhone (V73/V74), and second-generation foldable iPhone. This is the development integration phase where Apple tests hardware and software in concert before committing to a launch window.
H3 chip, new audio processor capable of camera input alongside audio tasks
Gurman confirmed Apple silicon group is developing an H3 chip for AirPods. The H3 is described as capable of handling infrared camera input and advanced audio processing simultaneously. Lower latency and better audio quality than H2. H2 has been in AirPods Pro since 2022. H3 represents a three-year generational jump.
AirPods Ultra branding, expected but not yet confirmed by Apple
Multiple leakers favor AirPods Ultra branding. Apple expanded Ultra naming across iPhone and MacBook in 2026, making this the likely choice. MacRumors also listed AirPods Pro 3 With Cameras as an alternative. Official name confirmed at launch only.
$299 price, $50 above AirPods Pro 3, sold alongside not replacing it
Multiple sources converge on $299 as the most likely price point, with $349 as the ceiling. AirPods Pro 3 launched at $249. Apple will sell both models simultaneously. AirPods Ultra is a new premium tier, not a generational replacement. This mirrors the AirPods 4 dual-model structure.
Gesture control, Kuo predicted, Gurman contradicted
Ming-Chi Kuo predicted in June 2024 that infrared cameras would enable in-air gesture control. Gurman specifically said in May 2026 he does not expect hand gesture support. Both are among the two most-followed Apple supply chain voices. Treat gesture control as speculative until Apple confirms.
Timeline
Dec 2023
Bloomberg cites internal project B796, low-resolution cameras in AirPods stems
Mark Gurman newsletter references an internal Apple project with low-resolution cameras in AirPods stems. Framed initially as Vision Pro spatial audio enhancement and potential gesture control. The first public signal that camera-equipped AirPods are in active development.
BloombergJun 2024
Ming-Chi Kuo: camera AirPods targeting mass production 2026, IR sensors like Face ID receiver
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo publishes a Medium post predicting Apple will mass-produce camera-equipped AirPods by 2026. Describes the cameras as infrared modules comparable to the iPhone Face ID receiver, not the transmitter. Original use case framing: enhanced Spatial Audio for Vision Pro via head-tracking.
Ming-Chi KuoJun 2025
Apple patents Wavelength mixing for optical systems, proximity and gesture sensing described
Apple patents a camera system for earbuds that can recognize proximity to objects and determine a type of matter being observed. First public IP documentation of the camera approach.
AppleInsiderSep 2025
AirPods Pro 3 launches with H2 chip and heart rate sensor, no camera, sets the baseline
Apple releases AirPods Pro 3 at $249 with heart rate monitoring, improved ANC, and Personalized Spatial Audio. Same H2 chip from 2022. Camera AirPods rumored separately. This generation is the hardware the camera model will be compared against.
AppleMay 7, 2026
Bloomberg: AirPods Ultra enters DVT, near-final hardware, cameras in both stems, LED indicator confirmed
Mark Gurman reports prototypes have entered Design Validation Testing. Near-final hardware tested by internal Apple employees. Two new details confirmed: cameras in both earbuds and a small LED indicator light that activates when cameras are transmitting data.
BloombergJun 8, 2026
WWDC 2026: new Siri AI launches in iOS 27, the software foundation for AirPods Ultra arrives
Apple announces iOS 27 with a rebuilt Siri AI including Visual Intelligence in the Camera app and on-device processing. AirPods Ultra core feature is Visual Intelligence applied through earbuds. Apple delays the hardware to pair with iOS 28.
AppleJun 16, 2026
Bloomberg: AirPods Ultra pushed to late 2027, tested on iOS 28 alongside 20th anniversary iPhone
Mark Gurman reports Apple has delayed AirPods Ultra from 2026 to late 2027. Visual AI models capable of identifying real-world objects in real time required more development time than anticipated. Hardware codename B798 now being tested on iOS 28 alongside 20th anniversary iPhone and second-generation foldable. Bloomberg notes timing remains fluid.
BloombergLate 2027
AirPods Ultra announced
Expected late 2027 alongside the 20th anniversary iPhone and second-generation foldable iPhone, all three tested together on iOS 28. Infrared cameras in both stems, Siri Visual Intelligence, H3 chip, LED privacy indicator. Apple's first wearable AI product.
Outlook
What's next
Beyond AirPods Ultra: Apple is also developing smart glasses, codenamed N50, targeting late 2027, potentially launching alongside or shortly after AirPods Ultra. The glasses will have higher-resolution cameras that can take photos and video, closer to Meta Ray-Ban than the AirPods sensor approach. Together, AirPods Ultra and Apple glasses represent Apple's full wearable AI platform, with ears as the ambient AI layer and glasses as the visual capture layer. AirPods Ultra is the more privacy-friendly entry point. No viewable footage, LED indicator when sensors are active, on-device processing via H3. Whether that matters to mainstream buyers, or whether people want Ray-Ban-style capture capability, is the market question Apple's 2027 lineup will answer.
TechSpotMacRumorsWhat the codenames mean
B798AirPods Ultra internal project codename, confirmed by Bloomberg June 2026, being tested alongside V73 and V74 (anniversary iPhones) on iOS 28B796Earlier AirPods camera project codename that surfaced in 2023 Bloomberg reporting, referenced alongside the first rumors of low-resolution cameras in AirPods stemsH3Next-generation AirPods audio chip in development, successor to H2 in AirPods Pro 3. Confirmed by Gurman as targeting lower latency, better audio quality, and computational headroom for camera input and real-time Visual Intelligence processing simultaneouslyVisual IntelligenceApple software framework that gives Siri visual context from camera input. The same feature that lets iPhone 15 Pro point a camera at something to get Siri information about it. AirPods Ultra extends this to always-available earbuds with no phone requiredAirPods Ultra coverage by iDevice
All coverage →