Apple's Camera-Equipped AirPods Confirmed: See Them in Action

[Man on the moon]

Having airpods in all the time is awful. This HAS to be apple pushing misdirection within a build... I cant imagine the usefulness of this at all.

I agree.

Some people never remove them it's weird. Some people even sleep with AirPods on. 😂

 

[Unregistered 4U]

So the video shows someone with very short hair. How will these work when someone has long hair that covers their ears? Are we going to see a new trend of people getting certain hairstyles just so they can wear camera equipped AirPods?

We’ve seen people removing tattoos in order to wear Apple Watches, soooooooooo yeah.

 

[BeatCrazy]

A solution looking for a problem. Who has ever thought “man I wish my AirPods had cameras on them”

Safety and security. Anyone walking outside or in an unfamiliar area has a perpetual recording device. Much faster than trying to pull out your phone and start recording.

 

[snakesayan]

LOL can’t wait for earbuds that only last an hour on a charge. Earbuds don’t need cameras or AI. The privacy issues are a big concern as well.

 

[maknik]

The plan is to quickly sell millions of these, many to shoppers who don't care or use the camera, so that activists cannot possibly stop the camera proliferation and we all give up and accept earphone and glasses cameras everywhere.

When it's a few weird-looking glasses, you can stop it via social pressure. When it's tens of millions of airpods in everyone's ears, there is no stopping it, and like all other privacy invasions in the last 20 years, people will quickly just accept it and give up, and a world in which we are constantly being recorded by the police/state (Flock, etc) and by private individuals and companies (Ring, Airpods, etc) will be complete.

 

[Ianblackburn]

I would expect Apple will keep this very locked down - images only available to Visual Intelligence & Siri to analyse, but not saved in your library, not available to other apps; at least at first…

 

[turbineseaplane]

I would expect Apple will keep this very locked down...

...at least at first…

...the camels nose!

 

[Apleeseed84]

Instead of giving us hi res/lossless, we get lidar/video. Then people ask why I want Apple to give us a new iPod, too many distractions on the iPhone or iPad for most of the time.

 

[junkstory]

I highly doubt it’s a camera. I would think it’s something like Lidar - a new tech that can use light to “read” but not to take photos etc and consumes less power

None of what you said is at all in the realm of possibility. It would require millions of training data to train a new AI model specifically based on this new “lidar sensor”, and we know Apple doesn’t train any of their own AI. Lidar can’t read flat objects, and use significantly more power and space than cmos. If there is a new sensor no one has ever heard of, supply chains would have already leaked it.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Oh look, another way for people to be creepy.

 

[citysnaps]

But the majority of the uses will be the creepy side, it’s literally why Meta had to make changes to the glasses so the camera won’t work if the recording LED is covered or damaged.

And you believe that never crossed the mind of Apple program managers and system engineers, and haven't dealt with that?

Why not wait until the product is actually released rather than going for the daily and easy sky ice falling Apple slam that happens so often here?

 

[Core.2]

Text to audio wound be interesting. Siri, read me this bedtime story....

 

[citysnaps]

Funny how everyone trusts Apple with their savings, browser history and medical info but not when it comes to a simple closed loop camera system. Seems like you’re already blaming Apple for Meta and Google’s mistakes.

Spot on. So many people here believe Apple program.managers and system engineers are stupid, with privacy never crossing their minds. Rather than waiting for the product release.


I guess it does give some the opportunity for that daily Apple slam that apparently feels so good.

 

[spazzcat]

So people with long hair will immediately become more trustworthy? Excellent.

Nope, they can just hide cameras easier.

 

[spazzcat]

great now pervs in the gym locker rooms will be shooting vids with their airpods

We don't even know if they record video or take photos.

 

[DENZIE]

If this is the beginning of the end of vertical video, I for one welcome it.

Also anything that reduces smartphone zombies...

100%. I wish they’d also limit what apps can use the loudspeaker. So sick of hearing people’s scrolling

 

[spazzcat]

I’m so done with cameras being put into everything.

You can get everything delivered to your home these days. Can't promise the delivery person will not have cameras though.

 

[fire1113]

I mean, he could also be wearing the new Apple Monocle. 🧐

Or the new Apple Contact Lenses!

 

[spazzcat]

I agree.

Some people never remove them it's weird. Some people even sleep with AirPods on. 😂

I sleep with earplugs, some people are light sleepers.

 

[admford]

Anyone notice that David Pogue leaked these in March in his book?

"Apple: The First 50 Years", Page 527:

If there were cameras on the AirPod's stems, they could become smart glasses without the glasses. The cameras would see the world around you; you'd speak your questions about what you're seeing; and Siri would speak the answers, courtesy of the visual intelligence technology that's already in the latest iPhones. "What does this sign mean in English?" you could ask. "Who owns this building?" "What is this weird bug?".

In principle, the cameras might also see your hands, watching for gestures that would control your music on your phone.

 

[teaneedz]

Comes with a free ear hair removal kit...

the iBlade with a monthly subscription for its replaceable blades (a new line for Anker too)

 

[matzoek]

I sleep with earplugs, some people are light sleepers.

I sleep with AirPods, I have horrible neighbours.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Or, is Apple leaking this intentionally to see user reactions? Before a release?

This is a very reasonable theory. They've seen all the backlash to Meta Glasses and the like, and want to see if people are less kicked-out by this.

Hint: They aren't. As long as it's a camera that can record without being obviously "a person holding up a camera," it's going to run into privacy concerns. If they do make it firmly "the feed can *ONLY* go to Apple Intelligence, with all its privacy and safety controls, and *ONLY* plain text is stored after processing," *MAYBE* it will be received better. (As in, the example "what was that picture I looked at earlier" doesn't actually bring up a photo of the picture, but just a text description it saved that it reads back to you.)

 

[Alex.ne]

If this is the beginning of the end of vertical video, I for one welcome it.

Also anything that reduces smartphone zombies...

Tell me you did not read the article without telling me you did not read the article.

 

[Markwebbvt]

Between Meta glasses and the like, cellphones with cameras, FLOCK cameras and now AirPods with cameras, we have agreed to be under constant surveillance and intrusion. Not good.