Apple is reportedly developing a wearable AI pin that’s around the size of an AirTag tracker, according to a report from a credible publication.
The Information‘s latest update says Apple has begun work on a pin that would have two cameras (standard and wide-angled), microphones, a speaker, and a physical button (presumably for power or activation of the microphones).
The reports (via 9to5Mac) says:
“Apple’s pin, which is a thin, flat, circular disc with an aluminium-and-glass shell, features two cameras—a standard lens and a wide-angle lens—on its front face, designed to capture photos and videos of the user’s surroundings, the people said. It also includes three microphones to pick up sounds in the area surrounding the person wearing it. It has a speaker, a physical button along one of its edges and a magnetic inductive charging interface on its back, similar to the one used on the Apple Watch, the people said. Apple engineers are aiming to make the pin the same size as an AirTag, only slightly thicker, one of the people said.”
The report says the product could be launched as soon as 2027. However, given the sources also say “development is still in the very early stages” such a rapid launch sounds incredibly unlikely. The sources do say that Apple may speed up development to counter a possible rival from OpenAI, but 2027? No chance.
This report probably isn’t the bombshell it sounds like. We would be more surprised if Apple wasn’t investing time and resources in developing a product like this. It’s natural that the company would be looking into a form factor that many see as a potential successor to the smartphone. Or at least as a voice-centric AI companion that can help everyone cut down on screen time.
The first couple of devices we’ve seen in this form factor have flattered to deceive. The Rabbit AI pin and another from Humane failed out of the gate. Both of these devices were an insulting joke, barely beyond the concept stage, and should never have been released as consumer products. The Humane one only seemed to exist as a come-get-me plea from the makers looking to have their tech bought out. Hewlett Packard obliged. Humane earned a cool $116m for that having wound up selling less than 10,000 units of the poor-performing AI Pin.
However, Apple has a track record for taking a form factor few thought twice about and making it mainstream.
