SBlue1
macrumors 68020
You mean Meta glasses being forbidden? Sure. There are quite a few reports even in English.
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Apple's Camera-Equipped AirPods Confirmed: See Them in Action
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dannys1
macrumors 601
To be fair there was a period where the US govt was promoting the use of x-ray scanners (not the millimetre wave ones in use now which are safe) so not all concerns were unfounded.
U.S. Government Glossed Over Cancer Concerns As It Rolled Out Airport X-Ray Scanners
A 1998 safety panel was reassured X-ray body scanners wouldn't see widespread use. Today, despite having a safer alternative that the U.S. government deems highly effective, the Transportation Security Administration is marching millions of airline passengers through the scanners, parting ways...www.propublica.org
Oh yeah I agree, they were bad. X-rays should be kept to an absolute minimum.
dannys1
macrumors 601
I mean your second question is like asking "how do you stop someone hacking CCTV and filming everything themselves" - you stop it by making it impossible or extremely hard to do.
And even if it did, I think you'll find the tiny batteries would last minutes.
The technology doesn't exist, but if it did exist to have "high resolution cameras" that somehow don't need any battery to run streaming to your phone, then having AirPods have a camera in it wouldn't stop that happening, someone would invent it - we've had hidden spy cams for 20 years, people can just fit those to their tie or lapel if they want to go around covertly filming people.
And who cares if they do? Who cares if a creepy guy films me on a train, i'm in public he can stare at me if he wants, not a lot I can do about it, nor do I really care.
I hate everything about this and it’s pushing me further away from tech. Downvote me all you want you slop hogs! 😉
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
I agree, and the starting point for too many products like these now is "what can this do for the user!?", with not even close to enough concern about how it might interact with other people and society as a whole.
I guess it's about what I should expect from the tech overlords and their companies. Narcissism is built in right at the leadership level, so it's no surprise the products are so often only concerned about themselves and the potential buyers.
Has this video been verified? I don’t recall ever seeing videos released with an OS update. Even Apple’s support pages don’t have videos. I’m skeptical this is real.
We are waiting for 2-3 years for Apple Intelligence to be delivered, and the only way to do it is to pay Google to use Gemini. First impressions from the betas are that it will be half-baked and will lack real integration with third-party apps, I am sure due to "privacy" reasons. And now they will try to sell us cameras on AirPods. Steve Jobs will turn in his grave.
if the beta came with a link to a beta support page the video would still be there and eligible to be captured. The data doesn't have to be there, just a link.
Second "Visual Intelligence" doesn't actually work on the AirPods directly. The iPhone/Mac needs to be hooked to the camera in the AirPods. Talking about the pairing process would be part of the help system for the 'computer' side of that process. ( it isn't like the AirPods. have a substantive interactive, mulitimedia help system anyway. So which 'half' of the pair is more likely going to ge the multimedia? )
There is a bit of catch-22 here. The bulk of stuff that leaked is likely coming in September. Apple is likely getting some folks to try this stuff NDA Beta or something similar. So a macOS beta is easiest path to getting some outsiders to test this stuff before have to go 'final' on the stuff that is shipping from factories earlier.
Or someone ( or funky new AI agent) goofed. Lots of builds being done to both old and new OS right now so release chain is probably more overloaded than usual. That is more often when folks make mistakes.
[ The leak happening the same time Google and a bit after Samsung released similar stuff probably is not a coincidence though. It is probably not much more than a month before this stuff rolls out so increasingly not much of a secret anyway. Larger and larger of supply chain partners are fully looped in. ]
Apple isn't directly using the consumer facting web service of Gemini. Apple used elements that went into building Gemini to construct their own models. It is neihter purely an Apple or Google product, but Apple does get to brand it.
As for 'to pay Google', what is that the 'new' math? Apple product users generate lots of money from which Google gives Apple a slice to the tune of about $20B/yr. Apple takes a $19B check instead of a $20B check from Google and Apple 'payed' . In terms of tax purposes and barter trade yes. But in a practical sense that was $20B of 'free' money for Apple. They don't do much other than collect the check. Apple product users are doing all the substantive work.
It wasn't the 'only' way. It was the much cheaper way. Google has stopped stock buy backs and is literally borrowing money ( not to duck taxes like Apple , but in part to underwrite buying equipment to develop Gemini tech that Apple is licensing). Apple side steps those borrowing costs and continues to do stock buybacks. ( some of the stock buyback is to retain talent in addition to self-interest by a few ).
How can an actual impression of using the product be a "will be" ..
Because Betas are usually fully baked? Or beta precisely because they are not done.
err giving beta to 3rd party isn't an inherent part of the general beta process. If 3rd parties didn't have it 3-4 months ago then probably not done now.
Saint Steve the king of privacy. 😝 Apple didn't add access controls to Contacts/Address Book until 2012.
Apple: iOS update to require user permission for apps to access contacts
After folks discovered numerous apps were uploading address book data without permission, Apple tells Macworld that a forthcoming iOS update will require such apps seek explicit user approval before accessing such data.
www.macworld.com
It didn't happen until after Steve Jobs was already dead. Until then 3rd party apps could riffle through your contacts at will. Yep, really big on privacy. *cough*
Most likely this 'Vision Intelligence" feature will only seamlessly work with Apple cameras. A bigger walled garden was never on St. Steve's agenda. *cough*
the longer Jobs is dead the more revisionist history gets mapped onto him by some.
SBlue1
macrumors 68020
So you can not imagine what women would feel like? Women feel less safe in public spaces than men already, and at least they can tell most of the time when someone is recording or taking photos without consent. Now with smart glasses and camera ear buds they will feel even less safe. As someone who has kids and especially girls I say that people wearing and pointing recording devices at kids or women is not ok, no matter how safe you as a grown strong white adult man may feel.
Are you insinuating that people should NOT jump to conclusions??
I mean....... you don't actually let a day pass WITHOUT complaining about Apple, do you...???
Savage! Brutal!
😁 🤣 🤷♂️ 🙃
Welcome my friend!
And I don't really maintain any technological relics, but I absolutely admire those who do! 🫡 🙌
Fair point, but that's the point here; we're all chit-chatting & speculating.
But, if any new AirPods are released with any sort of imaging (even Lidar) tech built in, I GUARANTEE you they WILL be misused in very inappropriate ways.
It's just a fact. 🤷♂️😅
Why do you need to drag race into something like this? And how do you even know his race?😒🙄
No.
And no, I don't complain about Apple. I very much like their products as all of them work very well for me..
WebHead
macrumors 6502a
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Women usually care, as they are getting harassed and targeted by absolutely disgusting men using this technology.
Perhaps consider some others that are more vulnerable to this tech than yourself.
alfonsog
macrumors 6502a
If you're on this forum you have no privacy 🤷🏻♂️ and that's how the internet works... I'm 52 and I've been online since the late 80's with pcpursuit and bbs's and I couldn't erase myself even if I cared.
There is a significant difference. Of course, we will not know the camera details until Apple announces the rumored device. But IF the camera can snap a photo and have AI processing done on it, targeting someone in public surreptitiously is easier than with microphones. I can take a photo of someone I “follow” from a greater distance. For an audio recording, I have to get pretty close. Moreover, visual capture allows for stills, i.e. photos, whereas an audio capture still is silence.
I could target someone easily with camera equipped AirPods without having to stick them in their face.
This is comparing apples to not even oranges but more like to onions or potatoes. If all smartphone owners would be holding up and pointing the device while in public, there would be grave concern.