I’m Obsessed With J.D. Vance’s Apple Watch

Typically, the Vice President of the US wears an Apple smartwatch. Final week the weblog Watches of Espionage known as out Vance over the problem in what it known as an “open letter” to the Vice President. Smartwatches are a safety threat, they acquire lots of priceless details about us, and it’s unusual for a person who’s a heartbeat away from the President to put on one.

Unusual nonetheless is that JD Vance doesn’t appear to put on a smartwatch that always. He has been photographed a number of instances carrying an Apple Smartwatch, however it’s removed from the norm.

Watches of Espionage is a weblog run by a former CIA case officer that focuses on the intersection of watches and the intelligence group. In case you’ve ever needed to know what a Syrian leader or SpecOPs has on their wrist, that is the web site for you. On February 4, the weblog posted an article chiding Vance for carrying an Apple Watch.

“From an intelligence perspective, the Apple Watch provides distinctive information assortment and entry for exploitation and even manipulation. Of explicit concern, the watch comprises a microphone that when worn is able to detecting and recording the person’s conversations,” Watches of Espionage mentioned. “By way of a course of known as scorching micing, the microphone might be remotely activated or set to passively acquire audio with out the wearer’s data. Moreover, the Apple Watch collects GPS location, motion, and biometric information together with coronary heart price and sleep patterns, representing potential vulnerabilities for exploitation by unhealthy actors. If the gadget is compromised, all of this information is on the market to a hostile intelligence service.”

Watches of Espionage is true. Safety is Apple’s model, however a smartwatch is a smartwatch and Apple’s flagship hoovers up an unbelievable quantity of information about the one that wears it on their wrist. However Vance doesn’t appear to put on an Apple Watch fairly often.

The image that caught the previous CIA Agent’s eye was posted to Charlie Kirk’s social media on January 28, 2025. Within the photograph, Vance is giving a thumbs up and clearly carrying an Apple Watch. “Thanks for the experience Mr. Vice President!” Kirk posted alongside the photograph, implying that the image was taken on Air Pressure 2.

Trying by Getty and AP pictures of Vance’s public look over the previous two months reveals a startling lack of the Apple Watch. He doesn’t have it on on the inauguration, on the campaign trail, or at any latest high-profile occasions. On February 9, Getty caught Vance briefly sleeves and denims as he climbed aboard Air Force Two. No Apple Watch. In a photograph with Senator Joni Ernst revealed in October 2024? No watch. That point he mumbled his means by ordering donuts? Not a watch in sight.

Pouring over too many pictures of the Vice President over the previous few hours I’ve solely discovered one different latest time he’s worn the Apple Watch. On the finish of January, Vance traveled to Damascus, Virginia, and spoke in regards to the restoration efforts round Hurricane Helene.

And there it’s. The Apple Watch.

Why right here? And why on the airplane with Kirk? Vance, like myself, is an older millennial. We’re not huge watch folks. Our telephones can provide us the time of day and lots of different information apart from. Going by pictures of Vance it looks as if he’s not a watch man. Ninety p.c of the time, he’s simply not carrying one. However now and again, there’s an Apple Watch

I’m going to say that Vance’s smartwatch isn’t a safety threat. It’s merely not current more often than not. However settling that query has left me with extra questions. In case you’re occupied with well being information, it’s essential to put on an Apple Watch always. Time and notifications aren’t a difficulty for a person surrounded by a military of assistants.

So why generally? Why solely each on occasion? Why?