Apple is reportedly asking a few of its employees to wear body cameras at work to prevent leaks. The report claims that Apple is making some of its employees wear “police-grade” body cameras. These cameras are said to be similar to the law enforcement camera — the Axon Body 2 — seen on police personnel. This is a drastic step from Apple, one that is presumably done to prevent premature leaks of its products — especially the upcoming iPhone, iPad, AirPods, and Mac models. There is no clarity on which teams or employees are being asked to wear these body cameras but the report says the new rules don’t apply to the entire Apple staff.
Front Page Tech reports that Apple has “taken this new dramatic step to ensure that its hardware trade secrets stay out of the hands of leakers”. This new compliance has been rolled out for specific teams only and not all Apple employees. The report does not say which teams have been asked to wear these body cameras.
In March this year, Apple sued a former employee who worked at the company for more than a decade, claiming that he shared its trade secrets with a media contact in exchange for favourable coverage of a startup he invested in. The employee is accused of sharing details of unreleased hardware, unannounced feature changes, and future product announcements.
The upcoming iPhone 13 family, anticipated to launch in September, has also been subjected to many leaks already. There are expected to be four models this time around as well – the iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The phones are expected to come with up to 1TB of storage options and improved LiDAR sensors.
Additionally, the iPhone 13 Pro models may come with upgraded wide-angle cameras with autofocus support. iPhone 13 is said to feature a 6.1-inch LTPO display and have a dual rear camera setup. The iPhone 13 Pro Max, on the other hand, is said to have three camera sensors on the back that are larger than the ones on the previous version.