An Apple Watch with a camera? This patent shows it’s more likely than you think
The detachable design would let you take pictures with the watch's underside
An Apple Watch might one day launch with an in-built camera if a recent patent submission is anything to go by, that is.
Apple was granted the patent earlier this month, which details the design of a smartwatch with a camera lens built into its underside.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Apple Watch camera
📷 A new patent details an Apple Watch with an in-built camera
🤔 Strangely, the camera lens is located on the device’s bottom
😲 You’d detach the watch face, take a photo, then clip it back on
🙅 But don’t expect the new design to hit retail shelves anytime soon
Labeled as a “Watch having a release mechanism”, the strange configuration would allow you to snap photos on the go by detaching the watch face from its wristband.
You’d then be able to point it around, use the watch’s front display to see what you’re aiming at and clip it back onto the wristband when you’re done. It would be attached either using a mechanical latch or a magnet.
It certainly sounds like a novel way of integrating a camera into a watch, but as Mashable points out, it doesn’t have many obvious use cases. It’s likely easier to use your phone to quickly take a photo of something than detach a watch face from your wrist. And how many situations can you think of where you’d be wearing a watch but not have your phone on you?
The patent was originally filed in 2019 but was only granted last week. That doesn’t guarantee the idea will come to fruition, though. Companies often patent ideas they have no intention of pursuing on the off chance they come back to them in the future, or give themselves legal weight when suing a rival company that’s concocted a similar idea.
So, don’t expect this camera variant to become our pick of the best Apple Watch anytime soon. It offers some interesting insight into where Apple’s boffins have their heads at, even if it doesn’t reveal much else.
We’re already expecting a few big changes to be made to the next line-up of Apple Watches, including the replacement of their OLED screens with microLED displays. They should offer the same high brightness, perfect blacks and pristine off-angle viewing, but will be manufactured under Apple rather than outsourced to its competitors.
Apple just recently rolled out a special Apple Watch band color to celebrate Black History Month, and Adam has found his Apple Watch Series 8 to be an unexpectedly great fitness coach. So much for AI, we just need someone to hang around and tell us when to get up for a stretch.