New Apple BodPods Offer ‘360-Degree Social Isolation’
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Apple today introduced “the world’s first completely immersive wearable entertainment system,” billing it as perfect for runners and other outdoor enthusiasts for whom AirPods don’t provide adequate isolation.
Th BodPod, which looks something like a large, inverted trash can, is worn over the user’s torso and held in place with an adjustable harness, according to the company’s online announcement. Inside, users can stream music and video, read and send text messages, and browse the web. Tiny embedded cameras alert the user to obstacles, sending real-time video to a screen inside the unit.
“If you like your Apple AirPods, you’ll love the new BodPod,” read the announcement. “Finally, here’s a way to shut out other people completely—not just aurally but visually as well.”
“This is voluntary social isolation taken not just to the next level, but beyond it, to a newly discovered place where your risk of interacting with a fellow human being, or even acknowledging their existence in a simple, effortless way, is zero.”
“Because if there’s one thing the world needs,” it continued, “it’s fewer fleeting moments of human connection.”
Reaction among runners was overwhelmingly positive, judging from a sampling of online comments.
“Shut up and take my money!” wrote Jack Finney, a self-described avid runner in Santa Mira, California. “I love my AirPods and never go out without them, but even with my music cranked up, I’m constantly having to avoid eye contact with everyone who passes me.”
“It sucks,” he added, “having to pretend all the time like other people are invisible.”
“Already placed my order,” wrote another runner, Elizabeth Driscoll. “I look forward to the day when everyone on my favorite running path is wearing one of these things.”
The BodPod, available in white or black, retails for $1,499.
