Why adding a camera to your AirPods might be a bad idea

Main points

• Considering limitations like low resolution and potential privacy concerns, the idea of ​​adding a camera to the earbuds might not be as practical or useful as it seems.
• While cameras on earbuds can enhance accessibility, they may not be the best solution compared to dedicated devices for specific needs such as fall alerts.
• It’s crucial to question the motives behind tech companies adding new features and consider whether they actually benefit consumers or simply increase the price.

In the latest edition of Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, Bloomberg reports that Apple is exploring how to advance the world of wearables. This innovation may include combining built-in cameras with better artificial intelligence and health sensors, which may help people with their daily lives by using data captured through the cameras and artificial intelligence processing. In addition, these cameras can be used for functions such as fall detection or exercise detection.

Other ideas that come to mind might be to help you orient yourself on your running route, or to alert you when something noteworthy is happening around you that you don’t know about. Car cameras have the potential to serve as an assistive feature, especially for those who are less visually aware.

It makes sense that Apple would want to expand its arsenal of wearable tech, especially after the recent launch of the Apple Vision Pro attracted so much attention. However, a camera may not be the best solution.

Personally, I think this idea could come with some potential issues and limitations, and consider the idea of ​​adding a camera to the earbuds to be a waste of money at best, and potentially dangerous at worst.

It makes sense that Apple would want to expand its arsenal of wearable tech after the launch of the Apple Vision Pro. However, a camera may not be the best solution.

Limitations of earbud cameras

Considering Apple is investigating adding cameras to earbuds like AirPods using low-resolution cameras, it’s likely that onboard image processing is involved. Since it’s impractical to do so via Bluetooth, the possibility of a camera in the headset seems rather limited. For example, the camera may not support photos or live streaming, as they will most likely require a more powerful battery for a wired or wireless connection.

Additionally, implementing technology found in wearable devices such as Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses (which use Wi-Fi connectivity) seems impractical.earplugs Can In theory, they have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, but that would likely increase their size and weight, significantly shorten battery life, and result in significant R&D costs.

Given these limitations, I can’t help but question how useful this theoretically useful technique is in practice. Fall detection and exercise detection can be implemented using existing motion sensors, and the awareness factor has been addressed through the presence of transparency mode.

While enhanced visual awareness of the camera would be a nice addition, considering how low-resolution the camera can be, and also noting that many people’s hair or headgear will obscure the camera anyway, I don’t think it would be too distracting Incredibly useful for the vast majority of users.

While a camera might add visual awareness, the potentially low-resolution camera and the warning about hair or headgear covering the camera make it hard for me to think that most users will find this feature useful.

Cameras may pose privacy and security concerns

There are also privacy issues to consider with cameras on earbuds. Any company that implements such technology, whether Apple or otherwise, will make it clear that there are no privacy or security concerns with low-resolution cameras on earbuds. This claim may be similar to how Apple claims that Face ID scans are “encrypted and protected by the Secure Enclave,” a security subsystem present in the hardware of most new Apple devices (excluding AirPods).

But as with all technology, I think it’s important to remain skeptical when it comes to privacy and security. When it comes to protecting data, there is no such thing as a perfect failsafe, and vulnerabilities occur every day in nearly all technology hardware and software. Concerns have been raised when it comes to headphones with location tracking capabilities, like AirPods, and until companies can patch any vulnerabilities, adding another vector may not be the best option.

Problems with relying on consumer technology for accessibility

While cameras on earbuds could theoretically be an important feature for accessibility and augmentation of daily life, I think we enter dangerous territory when earbuds can replace important assistive technology. production Help the disabled and elderly.

Continuing with the Apple example, AirPods and some Beats earbuds already feature Live Listen as a key accessibility feature, allowing people to use specific earbuds as hearing aids. But this feature cannot replace the usefulness of medical-grade hearing aids, which are manufactured for the specific purpose of improving hearing.

While it may be cost-effective to have earbuds double as hearing aids, especially when hearing aids are prohibitively expensive, creating sub-par assistive technology that will inevitably be used as a substitute for assistive devices feels unethical.

The same goes for the use of cameras on the earbuds. If you have an elderly relative and you want to be able to help them if they fall while walking, you’re better off relying on a specially designed emergency alert system, such as a necklace or bracelet, rather than headphones. AI processing can also make mistakes.

While earbuds have the potential to be useful assistive devices, cameras and artificial intelligence may present too many potential problems to be truly useful.

For example, what if the earbuds mistakenly detect that a person has fallen while sitting or lying down? While earbuds have the potential to be useful assistive devices, cameras and artificial intelligence may present too many potential problems to be truly useful.

Final comments and issues to consider

Regardless of whether Apple continues to add cameras to its headphones, I do think it’s important that we consider what tech companies stand to gain from implementing new features like this. Would more bells and whistles actually help consumers, or would they just add new fancy features to the spec list to justify a higher price tag? Will consumers really gain a net benefit, or will tech companies have even more personal data to add to their already mountainous arsenal of personal information on everyone?

Only time will tell, but I hope any new earbud features, especially ones targeting accessibility and health, take into account all limitations to maximize the possibilities.