Apple eyes a camera‑free AirPods Pro refresh for 2026

Apple’s ear‑bud roadmap is shaping up to be a little less flashy than the rumors suggested, at least for the next few months. The company is still expected to roll out a new version of the AirPods Pro before the year is out, but it won’t be the much‑talked‑about model that sports tiny cameras.

According to Mark Gurman’s latest “Power On” newsletter for Bloomberg, the camera‑enabled AirPods Pro—codenamed B798—are now pegged for a 2027 debut. That’s a shift from the earlier chatter in May, when the product was supposedly in design‑validation testing and seemed close to a 2026 launch. The new timeline suggests Apple wants a little more breathing room to iron out the hardware and software challenges.

Enter the B790, the alternative that appears to be moving ahead of schedule. Gurman notes that Apple often builds parallel versions of a product internally, and the B790 is the camera‑free sibling of the B798. Internal iOS 27 code references and a spot on Apple’s own road‑map point to a launch as early as the fall of 2026.

What will the B790 actually bring? Gurman is tight‑lipped on specifics, but the most reasonable guess is that it will be an incremental upgrade to the current AirPods Pro—better sound, refined ANC, perhaps a bit longer battery life—but without any visual sensors. In other words, a tidy, reliable refresh rather than a bold, new direction.

The idea of adding cameras to earbuds makes sense when you look at Apple’s broader AI ambitions. The long‑rumored Apple Glasses are said to feature side‑mounted cameras so the company’s “Apple Intelligence” can see the world. If earbuds got cameras, they could serve a similar purpose without the need for glasses. However, without a display to show what the cameras see, the utility would be limited to voice feedback via Siri or visual nudges on a paired iPhone or Apple Watch.

So for now, Apple seems to be playing it safe: a modest, camera‑free AirPods Pro update this fall, followed by a more adventurous, camera‑equipped model a year later. It’s a pattern that matches the company’s usual cadence—steady improvements now, big surprises when they’re ready.