Why Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods may not be the ‘pervert pods’ consumers fear

为什么苹果配备摄像头的 AirPods 可能并非消费者担心的“偷拍神器”

Camera-equipped AI wearables today have developed a bit of a reputation problem. Devices like Meta’s Ray-Bans raise concerns about people being recorded without their consent. So the idea that Apple is reportedly preparing to release AirPods with cameras in them seems to conflict with the iPhone maker’s desire to position itself as a privacy-focused tech company. But Apple’s now-leaked camera-equipped AirPods may not be as creepy as they first sound. 如今，配备摄像头的 AI 可穿戴设备在声誉上遇到了一些麻烦。像 Meta 的 Ray-Ban 智能眼镜这类设备，引发了人们对于在未经同意的情况下被录像的担忧。因此，有报道称苹果正准备发布带有摄像头的 AirPods，这似乎与其作为一家主打隐私保护的科技公司的定位相冲突。但苹果这款已泄露的带摄像头 AirPods，可能并不像听起来那么令人毛骨悚然。

The rumored cameras were reportedly confirmed via video footage found in Apple’s macOS 26.7 RC (short for “release candidate,” or the final test version of the software before it ships publicly). The footage, found by researcher Aaron Perris, shows a man holding up a book while wearing AirPods and apparently having a conversation with Siri about it. The audio track accompanying the video says: “With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later.” 据报道，这些传闻中的摄像头已通过苹果 macOS 26.7 RC（即“候选发布版本”，指软件正式发布前的最终测试版）中发现的视频片段得到证实。研究人员 Aaron Perris 发现的这段视频显示，一名男子戴着 AirPods 举起一本书，似乎正在就此与 Siri 进行对话。视频中的音频说道：“有了视觉智能（Visual Intelligence），你的世界变得可以保存。看到喜欢的东西？只需让我帮你保存下来即可。”

The addition of cameras to the popular wireless earbuds is further confirmed through code that references a “Hair Detected” error, which would warn users when their hair is covering the AirPods’ camera. The launch of such a device could very easily backfire on Apple if not done right. 在这款热门无线耳机中加入摄像头的消息，还通过代码中引用的“检测到头发”（Hair Detected）错误提示得到了进一步证实，该功能会在用户的头发遮挡住 AirPods 摄像头时发出警告。如果处理不当，此类设备的发布很容易对苹果产生反噬。

For a company whose brand is built on trust, this is a bigger gamble for Apple than one of its typical hardware refreshes. AirPods currently blend as a simple iPhone accessory that people wear all day without a second thought. A change like this could instead push them to the front of people’s minds, making them wonder whether the person opposite them is secretly recording. 对于一个品牌建立在信任基础上的公司来说，这对苹果而言是一场比常规硬件更新更大的赌博。目前，AirPods 只是作为一种简单的 iPhone 配件，人们整天佩戴它而不会多想。但这样的改变可能会让它成为人们关注的焦点，让人们开始怀疑对面的人是否在秘密录像。

Apple appears to have thought this through, based on prior reporting. According to an earlier report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the AirPods with cameras won’t be able to record media. As Gurman put it: The cameras essentially act as eyes for the Siri digital assistant and aren’t designed to take photos or video. These components — located in both the right and left earbuds — allow the device to capture visual information in low resolution. 根据此前的报道，苹果似乎已经考虑到了这一点。据彭博社的马克·古尔曼（Mark Gurman）早先报道，带有摄像头的 AirPods 将无法录制媒体内容。正如古尔曼所言：这些摄像头本质上是 Siri 数字助手的“眼睛”，并非为了拍照或录像而设计。这些位于左右耳塞中的组件，允许设备以低分辨率捕捉视觉信息。

In other words, the goal isn’t to turn one of Apple’s best-selling accessories into a surveillance device (lest they become “pervert pods”). It’s to provide a way for AirPods owners to engage with the newly upgraded Siri AI, which is set to ship in September with Apple’s iOS 27 and other software updates. That means an AirPods wearer could look at something — like a book, as shown in the leaked video, or perhaps some ingredients they’re preparing to cook, per Gurman’s earlier reporting — and simply ask Siri for help. The feature could also be useful for turn-by-turn walking directions when navigating an unfamiliar city. 换句话说，其目的并不是要把苹果最畅销的配件之一变成监控设备（以免它们变成“偷拍神器”）。其目的是为 AirPods 用户提供一种与全新升级的 Siri AI 交互的方式，该 AI 预计将于 9 月随苹果 iOS 27 及其他软件更新一同发布。这意味着 AirPods 的佩戴者可以注视某样东西——比如泄露视频中展示的书籍，或者根据古尔曼早先报道提到的正在准备烹饪的食材——然后直接向 Siri 寻求帮助。该功能在陌生城市导航时，对于步行路线指引也非常有用。

For Apple, the bigger strategic bet is that this feature could also push consumers toward, if not a screen-free future entirely, then at least one where there’s less need to pull out an iPhone throughout the day. By baking AI access into a commonly worn and already socially acceptable wearable, Apple’s customers could interact with the world around them in a more natural way than staring down at a glowing screen. 对苹果而言，更大的战略赌注在于，这一功能或许能推动消费者走向一个即便不是完全“无屏幕”的未来，至少也是一个无需整天掏出 iPhone 的未来。通过将 AI 接入功能植入到一种人们普遍佩戴且已被社会广泛接受的可穿戴设备中，苹果用户可以以一种比盯着发光屏幕更自然的方式与周围世界互动。

There is one wrinkle, though. Gurman also reported that the new AirPods would include an LED indicator that lights up whenever the device is sharing visual data to the cloud. He questioned the light’s visibility, given the AirPods’ small size, but either way, its inclusion could work against Apple. Though it’s the right thing to do from a transparency and privacy perspective, that LED risks visually lumping AirPods in with other AI wearables already facing public skepticism, like the Meta Ray-Bans, Snap’s Specs, or Google’s new AI glasses. Apple can control what the cameras do, but it’ll have far less control over what people assume they do. 不过，这里还有一个棘手的问题。古尔曼还报道称，新款 AirPods 将包含一个 LED 指示灯，每当设备向云端共享视觉数据时，该灯就会亮起。他质疑考虑到 AirPods 的小巧尺寸，这个灯的可见度如何，但无论如何，它的加入可能会对苹果不利。虽然从透明度和隐私的角度来看，这样做是正确的，但该 LED 灯可能会让 AirPods 在视觉上被归类为其他已面临公众质疑的 AI 可穿戴设备，如 Meta Ray-Bans、Snap 的 Specs 或谷歌的新款 AI 眼镜。苹果可以控制摄像头的功能，但对于人们如何揣测这些功能，苹果的控制力要小得多。