Apple's AI Pin Might Actually Be Worth Wearing (No, Hear Me Out)

The world of consumer electronics has changed a lot over the past couple of years. And whether you like it or not, AI has become the driving agent. OpenAI kicked off a storm with ChatGPT, and Google weaponized it well with Gemini across all its products, while an outlier like Anthropic became a hot favorite among software workers. Amazon is trying with Alexa+, but Microsoft's attempts with Copilot backfired into a "microslop" backlash. Somewhere down the line, AI gadgets landed and mostly flopped. The biggest absence (or AI success story) was Apple. That could change in 2027, with Apple launching its own AI-powered, AirTag-sized device.

On the surface, it sounds like a recipe for failure if you look at the state of AI hardware. The Rabbit R1 was widely ridiculed not too long ago. Friend, a necklace-style AI wearable, attracted plenty of public hate. Then there's the bomb that was the Humane AI Pin, which was actually the brainchild of two well-known former Apple executives. So, what are the chances that Apple can make a camera-equipped AI wearable work, especially when its AI efforts with Siri have been widely discussed as a competitive failure?

Apple's AI progress has been so out of touch that it had to rely on ChatGPT for Apple Intelligence, and now it's moving to Google's Gemini foundations to revive Siri for the era of generative AI. But the company seems fairly confident about the upcoming device. So much so that it has set a target of shipping 20 million units at launch, as per The Information, which says "Apple's pin, which is a thin, flat, circular disc with an aluminum-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."

There are a few reasons why I'm confident about Apple's AI wearable gamble. The Information's report doesn't dig into the specifics of the device, but the hardware description offers a glimpse of its supposed utility: "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."

And more. Jarvis will need to be ambient. Apple is developing a wearable pin -> Sources: Apple is developing an AirTag-sized AI wearable pin with cameras, a speaker, microphones, and wireless charging that could be released as early as 2027

"Apple's development is in the very... pic.twitter.com/j1BKDievUQ

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) January 21, 2026

With AI gadgets and wearables, the biggest challenge is making them blend in, instead of standing out. Apple's engineering team is reportedly trying to make the device the same size as an AirTag, though it will be slightly thicker. If the team manages to shrink the device to such a small footprint, while packing two world-facing cameras, it could be a huge draw for anyone enthusiastic about trying an AI companion device. Every AI device that I have tried so far has been fairly easy to spot as a discrete gadget, thanks in no small part to the size. If Apple can manage an AirTag-sized device, it would be a major win.

Another reason I am confident about Apple's chances of success is the timing. Siri has been an obvious laggard, not just in terms of computing chops, but also due to its limited conversational capabilities. Moreover, getting Siri to handle tasks, especially in another app, is currently a daydream, while ChatGPT and Gemini can do it pretty well. With App Intents, Apple has the foundations ready for AI to handle in-app tasks. And with Gemini's reasoning and comprehension skills, it's only a matter of time before natural language voice commands can actually get work done, instead of just chatting with an AI bot.

An AI-powered Apple wearable can work in a lot of ways, and there's plenty of practical precedent for that. For example, it can be pushed as a personalized note-taking device that offers AI-driven transcription, summarization, and format conversion tricks. I have extensively used the Plaud Note in the card format as well as a bracelet. Aside from audio processing chops, the device is also eyeing Apple Find My support. Apple's upcoming AI wearable could pull all of those tricks, and then some more. In Apple's case, the device might even work by simply offloading the transcription and format conversion chores to the connected phone (or Mac) using one of the on-device foundation models. 

Apple is making wearable AI devices... This little gadget is quite interesting. I wonder if it will be like a smartwatch, based on a smartphone.......@Apple pic.twitter.com/Gtonq28rnO

— Y-Zone 🎨（IFB/互） (@yangzhuoart) January 23, 2026

Gemini Nano can already pull off that trick within the Recorder app, driven by the on-device Gemini Nano AI Model. Then there's the multi-modal side of the device. The onboard cameras on Apple's AI device could help with making sense of the world around users, just the way Visual Intelligence works. This impressive capability, where an AI can talk about the world around you as seen through the camera, can also work offline, as demonstrated by apps such as HuggingSnap that rely on an open-source AI model.

Another opportunity would be health and wellness. Apple commands a massive health ecosystem with deep interplay between wearables and services. The company is already said to be exploring earbuds with an onboard camera, and they could tie into wellness-related applications, such as fall detection and assistance with workouts. Apple has arguably the deepest health ecosystem built atop wearables, and a multi-sensor AI device could open new avenues for wellness-focused features. For example, a built-in accelerometer can be used to track body motion for detecting sleep issues, just like an Apple Watch keeps an eye on signs of sleep apnea.