New research suggests AirPods with cameras can't happen — unless Apple makes a few major changes

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20 Apr 2026, 10:05 by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/tom-bedford · TechRadar

News By Tom Bedford published 20 April 2026

(Image credit: Future)

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Researchers at the University of Washington designed cameras for earbuds
Design limitations made the 2019-issue Sony WF-1000XM3 the perfect pair
...and the report suggests AirPods Pro can't last long enough

We've been hearing a surprising number of leaks to suggest that future AirPods could come with built-in cameras, perhaps as soon as 2027, despite its ongoing failures in the niche vision-tech market. And some new research may point to more problems.

Researchers for the University of Washington have written a paper about the VueBuds, earbuds they've created which have a built-in camera. This can see and recognize what you're looking at, much like how smart glasses work, except without needing big frames.

The paper describes how they sit slightly apart from XR headsets, smart glasses and body-worn cameras, with the main advantage being that earbuds are far, far more popular than any of those other categories.

Article continues below

The earbuds weren't designed from the ground up, with the researchers choosing 2019's Sony WF-1000XM3s for the task. Hey, we gave them 5 stars in our review: can't blame the researchers for wanting to hear some pretty good tunes while they work.

But their great noise cancellation and sound quality wasn't what drew the researchers to the Sonys. The real reason points to why AirPods with cameras will be a big challenge.

How long do they last?

(Image credit: Steve May)

The VueBuds were designed as an additional module, so they needed to be installed on existing earbuds. So why not use the most popular earbuds on the planet — AirPods Pro — rather than a 2019 option?

In the paper, the researchers explained: "We selected the Sony WF-1000XM3 platform based on accessibility for disassembly and battery integration, enabling a maintainable research scope without requiring a complete earbud redesign from the ground up."

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