Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AirPods With Cameras Could Arrive Sooner Than Expected

xraydoc said:
Doesn't matter if these can actually record anything or save images. Once people catch wind of "cameras" in them, I'm certain it will result in an effective ban on all AirPods in places like locker rooms and such. Not particularly happy here.
Click to expand...

This is a really overlooked point that I honestly think should make companies not put cameras in earbuds for any reason.

It’s opening up such a can of worms
 
  • Like
Reactions: johnsawyercjs
Mr_Ed said:
Sadly, these are only enabled under specific conditions, and here in the US, I think their range is limited compared to Europe. Now, if you shape your BMW into a shark, OTOH …
View attachment 2649773
Click to expand...
Hey! How could you see what I was up to in my lair? Ya got them new AirPodded cameras..ain't ya ?!



shark.png
 
  • Haha
Reactions: eifelbube, johnsawyercjs and Mr_Ed
bookcase said:
These will be a hard pass for me. Besides, I have a pair of APP 2 and 3, and I still find the APP 2 to be the more comfortable of the two.
Click to expand...
I have APP2, bought some Comply premium foam tips and they were great until they compressed and loosened way too much. That's where I wished larger sized silicon tips were available as the APP3 offers.

Come to think of it, with the Comply tips the seal test results were never 100% even new vs the Apple tips.
 
The hot takes in these threads are always so weak. Like paint them bright yellow so we all know who the people who use them because they have limited vision are. How about people with sensory limitations and some similar issues just live their lives without having to wear a scarlet letter to make others happy?

MR always uses a scare headline with these stories, though these sensors are not for recording videos or taking photos. But they know exactly what everyone thinks when they simply use the word "camera" without context in a headline, and they know people are gonna rage post and not read to the fifth paragraph of a six-paragraph story.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jz0309
Jumpthesnark said:
The hot takes in these threads are always so weak. Like paint them bright yellow so we all know who the people who use them because they have limited vision are. How about people with sensory limitations and some similar issues just live their lives without having to wear a scarlet letter to make others happy?

MR always uses a scare headline with these stories, though these sensors are not for recording videos or taking photos. But they know exactly what everyone thinks when they simply use the word "camera" without context in a headline, and they know people are gonna rage post and not read to the fifth paragraph of a six-paragraph story.
Click to expand...
clicks/posts are $$$ aka income for MR, I'm ok with that.

And this rumored AirPods went from cameras to IR cameras and now back to cameras ... and it is all Gurman based (as far as I remember Kup talked about IR sensors ,not even using the work camera). So that's the other twist as clicks also mean $$$ for Gurman.

We'll just have to wait and see what Apple actually announce and describes as use cases ... but that requires patience and then fact discussion ...

And keep in mind that some of these "rumors" are planted by Apple to Gurman to test the water ...
 
  • Like
Reactions: turbineseaplane
Last rumor we heard (here on MacRumors, of all places) was that Apple had dropped their plans to put IR cameras into an AirPods model. Seems some rumors aren't what they're claimed to be.
 
AppleWes said:
IMO it's more about "private areas in public" like gym locker rooms / hospitals / schools etc. Not ok to be recording or have any type of live camera views accessible.
Click to expand...
Maybe Apple should make these in a distinctly different color than white to identify them as camera-equipped, though likely the color difference might not make a difference with many or most people who might (justifiably) still wonder if someone's white earbuds also have cameras.
 
turbineseaplane said:
How about we stop jamming cameras in every possible location?

Could we stop trying to document every bloody thing happening every microsecond everywhere on the planet?

It’s like everybody missed all the memos about a hyper dystopia surveillance state.
Click to expand...
Soon the Panopticon will require cameras in literal pans, to see what we're cooking
 
The level of privacy that we have as people is slowly dwindling down to nothing. At some point we need to reassess and ask is this necessary? What problem is Apple trying to solve by placing cameras in AirPods? Is this a problem that I have and need this type of device to solve it? As much as Apple touts privacy, this update is not trending that way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Ed
I could have sworn not a month ago there were posts on this site about this product being cancelled outright.
 
tech_enthusiast_ said:
I think the application is more accessibility focused. For someone with low or no vision, having AirPods that can describe surroundings could be super helpful for safety and general information.
Click to expand...
Of course. Apple is famous for their products designed for blind people.
 
sherwinzadeh said:
I would imagine cameras to be a huge drain on batteries (which are already limited, especially after a couple years of use).
Click to expand...

People hear “cameras” and they automatically assume video streaming and recording. Which is not necessary to handle proximity awareness processing. The camera sensor could be a low quality sensor, that takes a quick shot every second (or whenever needed) and sends it to your iPhone for processing.

The current AirPods have microphones, no one seems to worry about being audio recorded.

What if the camera could be used to detect that you’re dumb-ass is too busy looking at your phone to notice a car coming at you as you’re about to step into the street?
 
Last edited:
123 said:
Of course. Apple is famous for their products designed for blind people.
Click to expand...
Unsure if your comment was sarcasm or not but, It's really not that far fetched when looking at all assistive and accessibility functionality in iOS or macOS. Matter of fact the hearing aid feature incorporated in APP2 and APP3 is a perfect example of this.

Use the Hearing Aid feature on your AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3 - Apple Support

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 provide a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, as well as a Media Assist feature that enhances the clarity of music, video, and calls.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
 
  • Like
Reactions: tech_enthusiast_
Looking forward to the lawsuits when someone walks into a gym locker rooms with these things on. Apple will have a hard time proving they didn't take video/audio of nude people and send them to their data center. Even if there is no malicious intent, Apple sending video of nudes people to their own data center to process those images will cewrtainly violate some statutes in most states. If there is a data leak at some point it will get really expensive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Ed
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back