Apple's new CEO was asked about 'pervert glasses.' Here was his response.

Apple CEO John Ternus says the company wants "people around the user feel comfortable" about the Apple Watch's new AI listening features.

Carlos Barria/Reuters Apple CEO John Ternus wants people to feel comfortable about the Apple Watch's new AI listening capabilities.

Ternus was asked about concerns about AI glasses, specifically that some have called them "pervert glasses." Apple exec Greg Joswiak called it "quite a marketing slogan." Ternus stressed that the Apple Watch features don't record.

Apple would kindly like to stay far away from Meta's ongoing reputational challenges with AI glasses.

Apple CEO John Ternus was recently asked about how the company thinks about privacy in the age of AI wearables in light of backlash around AI glasses like Meta's.

After all, Apple is rumored to be cooking up some AI glasses of its own in its labs.

"I know you can't talk about unannounced products, but what do you think about the backlash around what people are calling, you know, 'pervert glasses,' " Tom's Guide editor in chief Mark Spoonauer asked.

Before Ternus could answer, Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing who also being interviewed, quipped: "That's quite a marketing slogan." The remark drew laughter from Ternus.

Meta is actively fighting back at that perception with a marketing blitz that emphasizes the AI glasses' light that alerts people when the recording feature is activated.

It's also taken steps to thwart users who tamper with that light and pledged to remove "harassing" videos recorded by the AI glasses from Instagram ( Business Insider has found those moderation efforts are off to a bumpy start.) Meta declined to comment on the Apple executives' remarks.

Beyond some laughter at a rival's expense, the pair of Apple execs instead looked to explain how the company hopes to address privacy concerns when it releases two new AI-enabled listening features alongside the next generation of Apple Watches.

"We wanted to do this in a way that people feel comfortable using it, and people around the user feel comfortable about its existence," Ternus said.

While its first foldable phone, iPhone Duo, stole the show, Apple also announced that Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 will come with optional "audio intelligence" features that, depending on a user's preference, can mean Siri is always listening to your conversations throughout the day.

Apple says the features don't start working until the on-device AI detects speech and that no audio is recorded or stored.