GoKawiilA Bloomberg report suggests that Apple Glasses might be launched without the capability to take photos or record video. Apple is said to be considering this option as a way to address privacy concerns.
However, while I do absolutely understand the thinking that would leave the company to mull this option, my own experience of Ray-Ban Meta glasses is that video recording is absolutely core functionality for this type of product …
Privacy drives a lot of the decisions Apple makes, and it is one of the selling points of the ecosystem.
For example, with AI features, the company aims to carry out processing on device wherever possible. Where cloud processing is needed, Private Cloud Compute is designed to ensure that Apple has no access to user data, and provides security researchers with the ability to verify this for themselves. This is without qualification a good thing.
Smart glass privacy concerns
There’s also no doubt that smart glasses with video recording capabilities do create privacy concerns. This was one of the key reasons why Google Glass failed, with users acquiring the unfortunate nickname Glassholes.
Ray-Ban Meta glasses have also raised privacy concerns, in part because of one particularly despicable way in which they have been used by some YouTubers, as BBC News reported earlier this year.
Women leaving the beach, going into a shop, or simply standing outside are now being approached by men usually wearing Meta’s Ray-Bans, the company’s “smart” or “AI” glasses, often in order to film the women’s responses to casual questions or pick-up lines without their knowledge or consent. The women only find out about the videos of them after they gain traction, and often abuse, online.
The company also came under fire when it was found to be sending sensitive video footage to human data annotators, including accidental recordings.
For all of these reasons, I can absolutely understand why Apple would have concerns about including video recording capabilities in Apple Glasses.
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