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Apple Watch Cameras: Innovation or Overkill?

Apple Watch Cameras: Innovation or Overkill?

The Apple Watch might get a camera—but do we really need it?

Apple is reportedly planning to add cameras to future Apple Watch models, aiming to integrate Visual Intelligence features by 2027. While this sounds futuristic, I can’t help but wonder: is a camera on a 1.5-inch screen truly practical? As someone who only uses their Apple Watch to vibrate for phone calls, I’m skeptical. Let’s unpack why this might be more gimmick than game-changer.

📱 The Problem: Tiny Screen, Big Ambitions

Adding cameras to the Apple Watch raises immediate usability concerns:

  • 🖼️ Screen Real Estate: The largest Apple Watch screen is 49mm—smaller than a Post-it note. Viewing photos or framing shots would feel cramped.
  • 💪 Ergonomics: Holding your wrist steady for video calls or scans sounds exhausting. Try it for 30 seconds—you’ll feel the burn.
  • 📸 Precedent: Samsung’s Galaxy Gear (2013) had a camera but abandoned it. Even Wristcam’s $299 accessory hasn’t gone mainstream.
  • 🔋 Battery Drain: Cameras and AI processing could slash the Watch’s already limited 18-hour battery life.
apple logo on blue surface
Photo by Sumudu Mohottige / Unsplash

✅ Apple’s Proposed Solution: Visual Intelligence

Apple’s rumored plan focuses on AI-driven utility, not selfies:

  • 🔍 Object Recognition: Scan a concert poster to add events to Calendar or identify menu items at restaurants.
  • 🌍 Environmental Awareness: Help the Watch understand its surroundings for context-aware alerts.
  • 📡 On-Device AI: Gurman claims Apple wants to replace ChatGPT/Google reliance with proprietary models.

Mark Gurman suggests cameras could be embedded under the screen (Series models) or on the side near the crown (Ultra). But even if Apple pulls this off…

🚧 Challenges: Why This Might Fail

⚠️ Technical Limitations:

  • No FaceTime support due to screen size (per Gurman).
  • Cameras would likely max out at 8MP—far below iPhone standards.

⚠️ Design Compromises:

  • Apple’s team is already struggling with the plastic case for the budget Apple Watch SE.
  • Blood pressure monitoring—a far more useful health feature—is delayed due to technical hurdles.

⚠️ User Behavior:

  • Most people already carry iPhones. Why use a Watch camera?
  • As I’ve found, the Watch excels at glanceable notifications—not complex tasks.

🤔 Final Thoughts: A Solution in Search of a Problem?

📉 My Take: Apple Watch cameras feel like innovation for its own sake. The Watch’s strength lies in minimalist utility—tracking workouts, delivering alerts, handling Apple Pay. Adding cameras risks cluttering an already perfect formula.

🚀 When It Could Work: If Apple focuses exclusively on AI-powered tools (e.g., instant translation of street signs) rather than photo/video, it might justify the hardware. But with a 2027 timeline, even that feels speculative.

What do you think? Would you use a camera on your Apple Watch, or is this a misfire? Let’s discuss on X(Former Twitter)

Source: Alan Friedman. Cameras and Visual Intelligence are coming soon to the Apple Watch, March 23, 2025.

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