The Apple Watch is already the cream of the crop when it comes to smartwatches. With features that are legit lifesavers, such as fall and crash detection, the introduction of sleep apnea detection in Series 10, and many more, the Apple Watch may be adding another feather to its cap.
Yes, the Apple Watch may be getting a built-in camera in the future. The patents filed by a company reveal a lot about where they want to head in the future. Let’s break down the Apple patent that leads me to believe that the Apple Watch may be getting a camera in the future.
What the Patents Reveal
A patent filed on Feb 7, 2023, reveals that Apple plans to add a camera of up to 16MP to the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown, along with a possible flash for low-light conditions. Along with this, another image shows that the camera will have a wide-angle field of view that goes across the four fingers.
Apple has also previously filed patents with the Apple Watch, including a camera such as one filed on May 31, 2022, and another on June 25, 2019.
While there is no official statement as to when this feature will be added and to which Apple Watch model/series, I personally feel if they do add it, it would be a part of the Ultra series as opposed to the other models.
The camera, when added, will serve a variety of purposes :
- Face ID recognition to unlock the Apple Watch,
- Fingerprint detection for unlocking and payments,
- Video calls,
- Biometric monitoring,
- Capture photos and videos, and
- High degree of motion sensing accuracy using VIO (visual-inertial odometry).
Drawbacks of a Camera in the Apple Watch
While it is a really cool idea that we will be able to take pictures with our Apple Watch on our wrist, I feel the same idea poses some risks.
- The biggest threat to privacy could be the misuse of a camera that is so directly hidden in a watch that nobody would notice. This is also the exact reason why I’m not totally onboard with smart glasses that record surroundings.
- Along the same lines as the camera being a threat to privacy, it can be misused to spy, harass, or stalk people.
- An already shorter battery life on the Apple Watch will become even more affected with the addition of a camera.
- It could be difficult to navigate the camera settings and frame on such a tiny device with a small screen display, and it could take a long time to get used to.
- I have no doubt about Apple’s capability to only release a new tech after careful consideration, but even if done right, the electromagnetic radiation exposure could pose a health risk to a certain demographic.
- Adding a new tech could make the watch bulkier and heavier than its predecessors, making it slightly uncomfortable to use for a longer period of time, especially to record sleep.
- Apple has spoiled its users with a camera quality that is like no other, and to fit the same quality in a tiny device might be more complicated than anticipated.
Wrap Up
With the potential addition of a camera to the Apple Watch comes many new features and possibilities, such as more gesture controls to make the experience more hands-free. But these also come with its own set of privacy concerns.
Although I do feel Apple will take its sweet time rolling out this addition, I don’t know how I feel about the same. Guess we’ll have to wait and see!
