Apple is said to be working on a new Siri-powered AI pin, but what that will do and whether anyone wants such a thing is still very much unknown.
Citing unnamed people familiar with the AI pin project, The Information claims that it's still in its early stages. It also goes on to explain what the AI pin actually looks like. But what it will do is another thing entirely.
They say that beauty isn't skin deep, but nobody wants to wear a big, ugly AI device. Thankfully, Apple has the perfect form factor — an AirTag.
The report claims that the new device is about the size of an AirTag, which we're all familiar with. But it then goes on to say that it will have not one, but two cameras.
The specs continue. Three microphones, space for inductive charging tech, and a speaker are all said to be present. Oh, and a battery.
All in something the size of an AirTag, which seems unlikely at best. Fanciful is the word I'd use. But perhaps I lack the required vision for such a product.
There is only one way I can envision an AirTag-like device with all of these features would. Buy a pack of four AirTags and stack them on top of each other, and I think you'll be there.
But let's take the hardware specs at face value and assume that Apple has miniaturized things. Considerably so, but still.
Such a device will, of course, rely on Siri to function. There's no room for a display (the laws of physics do sometimes) so you'll have to talk to the thing instead.
And that's where the problems begin. Assuming you ignore everything you've already read, that is.
The Siri problem
Siri, famously, isn't very good. I know it, you know it. Apple knows it, which is why it's leaning on Google's AI models to make it better.
Apple's focus on improving Siri and Apple Intelligence is a theme set to run throughout 2026 and beyond. And it has plenty of improving to do.
So much so that I have zero faith in anything like an AI pin being usable if Siri is its only interface. There's just too much ground to make up. Too much improvement to happen.
A pin of the Apple Intelligence logo. Not an Apple Intelligence pin
Timescales are not in Apple's favor. The report claims that the AI pin could be ready for a 2027 release with 20 million units to be built.
I'm writing this in January 2026. If we give Apple until December 31, 2027, getting Siri to the point needed for an AI pin to be viable still seems a tall order.
But let's be charitable and say Apple does it. It pulls off the engineering comeback of the century and makes Siri the Star Trek-like interface we crave. There's still another problem, and the biggest yet.
Who, and why?
We've seen companies try to make AI devices before, and it's gone terribly. The Humane AI pin sold for $700 and flopped in ways Apple won't tolerate.
The Rabbit R1 was another approach. But it was so bad that I'm not sure its creators have been seen in public since its demise.
Humane's AI Pin serves as a warning to the industry.
I'll admit that both of those companies are startups, and we're talking about Apple here. There's also Humane, backed by Jony Ive. All that means is the stakes are even higher.
All of this leads to an uncomfortable question around whether there's even a market for such a device.
It's possible that Apple will unveil its AI pin and everything will fall into place. We'll all watch the stream and immediately get it. Apple will make the AI pin a must-have tech accessory.
But for that to happen, it needs to be useful. And that's the problem nobody has yet managed to solve.
Apple's AI pin might have cameras, so it'll see your surroundings. I'd expect Visual Lookup to be one feature.
But pointing your chest at a landmark and having it read its Wikipedia page won't sell hardware. And your iPhone already does it.
Apple's AI pin might use its speaker read you notifications and let you reply to messages hands-free.
But your Apple Watch already does that.
Again, maybe I lack imagination. Maybe that's why I'm not typing this from inside Apple Park.
But this is where Apple needs to step up. To tell a story as only Apple can. To explain why people need this thing and what it will do when they have it.
But all the imagination and all the vision in the world won't get Apple beyond a problem it's as-yet been unable to fix.
All eyes will now be on Apple's Siri team. If it can use Google's AI tech to turn Siri into something we can use without swearing at it, that'll be a start.
