Apple delays smart glasses over privacy fears, launch expected in 2027
There might not be a simple solution to this huge problem
by Chris Hall · T3
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Quick summary
Apple's AI glasses have been delayed partly on privacy grounds, with Meta facing a backlash over its own smart glasses.
With Apple using privacy as a marketing angle for its devices, it needs to make sure its own smart glasses don't appear to run counter to that core value.
There's now an explanation for the delay to Apple's smart glasses. We previously reported that the Meta Ray-Ban rivalling glasses had been delayed, but now it seems that part of the reason is the concern over privacy.
Writing in his PowerOn newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says: "The teams developing glasses … see privacy as priority No. 1, I’m told", leaning on the fact that Apple has used privacy as core to its marketing for the last decade.
While Meta has enjoyed the buzz of getting the first AI glasses to market, it's facing a privacy backlash, especially with plans to release "super sensing" glasses that might always be recording video and audio.
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Meta recently had to push an update to disable the cameras if the privacy LED was tampered with, addressing concerns about people using the glasses for nefarious use. It has been reported that wearers are recording people without their consent, with the camera integration into the glasses making it more difficult to see when someone is filming you.
That's led to smart glasses being banned in some settings, with further investigations into exactly how such glasses are regulated. For Apple, launching into this category gives them a chance to bring Siri to another device and boost the Apple ecosystem.
According to the report, Apple has prototyped glasses that don't have cameras available for photos or videos, so while calls can still be taken, music enjoyed and Siri interrogated, the privacy concerns are abated.
At the same time, removing the ease with which moments can be captured will also strip away the appeal. Currently, all the features offered by smart AI glasses, except capture, can be accessed through AirPods. Part of the appeal of smart glasses is you can record without a phone in your hand.
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That means you can get great point of view video, perfect for things like sports or driving, cooking or anything else that involves using your hands. That's always going to be open to abuse and that seems to be the challenge that Apple is facing.
Meta hasn't made this category any easier: reports that humans conducting moderation and AI training work were watching intimate videos captured on the Meta glasses bring everyone's privacy fears to life, something that Apple needs to find a way around.
With privacy being Apple's core message for so long, it's going to be a bumpy road for any AI glasses that the company plans to release - especially if they include cameras.
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