Luckily, there are no AirPods with cameras yet.

Apple’s September events are always full of information and exciting new products, and today’s event was no exception. Apple announced its first foldable iPhone Duo along with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max; active noise cancellation (ANC) is now available in the cheapest AirPods model – AirPods 5; and Siri Recap appeared on the Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4. But absent were the AirPods Pro with cameras, which have been rumored all year and, according to Mark Gurman on Bloombergpostponed until 2027. I’m glad about this and hope we never get them.

I have too many concerns about the company – any The company puts cameras everywhere, especially in devices like in-ear headphones that are now so ubiquitous in our daily lives. LED lights on glasses or headphones don’t help people much when someone is recording them. Some users of Meta smart glasses have shown that people hide their recording intentions. While public recording is generally legal in the US, it can be very creepy. And since in-ear headphones are so common, someone might be able to discreetly wear them in sensitive situations.

Rumors say the potential AirPods’ cameras will be low-resolution and “not designed” to take pictures or videos, but instead use what they see to inform Siri AI and Visual Intelligence. This information can be used to help with step-by-step instructions or to identify signs and objects such as books. Even if you have a low-resolution camera, it’s potentially always collecting information about the world (and people!) around you. I can’t get past this invasion of privacy.

During today’s event, Apple introduced an Audio Intelligence feature on the Apple Watch that sounds like a precursor to the Visual Intelligence feature we’ve been expecting from the rumored AirPods Pro 4. In its supporting documentation, Apple points out that audio isn’t saved and there’s no way to access the recording, which may be the same for video data with Visual Intelligence, and that for the Siri Recap feature, any data used to create the summary isn’t even available to Apple. Any stored data, such as a Siri Recap or a piece of text that a user might save using Live Rewind, is also end-to-end encrypted. People are also not identified in Siri Recap. Of course, none of this has materialized yet, so we’ll have to wait and see how well Audio Intelligence performs once it’s released.

Functionally, the camera will only collect information if it can see something. What to do if you have thick and long hair? Or do you like to wear hoodies? Or fine, sophisticated jewelry? AirPods will simply turn into what they are supposed to be – headphones. Perhaps the reason the camera-equipped AirPods were pushed back to 2027 is to find solutions to these problems. Or maybe part of the delay has to do with Apple breaking away from the current public climate around cameras with Meta and Flock.

The only immediate advantage of AirPods with cameras may be affordability. They can improve situational awareness for people with visual impairments or help hearing-impaired users read lips. They can even identify the person you’re talking to and point the AirPods microphones at them for increased intelligibility.

If you address privacy concerns or the fact that many people – and companies – are looking for opportunities to exploit people, a lot of good can be done. But falling into untrustworthy hands requires a lot of trust. I’m not sure I’m ready for this. Or if I ever will be. However, whether any of us are ready or not, it looks like the cameras are getting closer. The introduction of Apple’s Audio Intelligence technology into the new Apple Watch is ample evidence that the company is going to use sensors to analyze the world around it.