Apple is getting close to launching one of its most unusual AirPods upgrades yet, as new reports say the company has reached the advanced testing stage for AirPods with built-in cameras that work with
Apple's research with the University of Michigan, run across 160,000 U.S. participants since 2019, found that 16% of people who tested within the WHO normal-hearing range still rated their own hearing as fair or poor, and worse self-reported hearing correlated with slower walking speed in adults over 60. AirPods Pro 2 and Pro 3 run continuous hearing tests and FDA-cleared hearing-aid mode in real environments, which is the kind of measurement a clinical booth test cannot do.
Cameras in earbuds first, glasses second. Apple is building the installed base before it builds the platform.
Apple confirmed in January 2026 that Siri's next overhaul will run on a custom set of Google Gemini-based foundation models, with full conversational back-and-forth, multi-step actions, and personal context across your apps. The new Siri is expected at WWDC on June 8 and shipping in iOS 27 this fall, which would turn AirPods Pro 3 from passive earbuds into the primary interface for everything an iPhone does.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported Apple is planning iPhone Ultra, MacBook Ultra, and AirPods Ultra for this year, all priced above their Pro siblings. AirPods Pro 3 already track your heart rate and 50-plus workout types, and AirPods Ultra would add infrared cameras that let Siri see your surroundings, turning earbuds into a head-worn computer that happens to play music.
