Forward-looking: Given the recent disaster that was the Ai Pin, it’s easy to imagine that companies would want to steer clear of artificial intelligence wearables. But Apple is reportedly confident it can bring AI features to its smartwatches, thanks to new models that will feature cameras.
According to Bloomberg’s Apple expert Mark Gurman, the Cupertino giant is considering adding cameras to both its standard Series and Ultra model smartwatches, with plans for a 2027 launch.
In the case of the standard Series of Apple Watches, the camera is expected to be placed inside the display, either under it or as a cutout. In the more expensive Ultra models, the camera will be on the side of the smartwatch, which would likely make it easier to point at objects.
The addition of the cameras would allow the Apple Watches to support Visual Intelligence, the company’s version of Google Lens. It uses cameras and AI to analyze images in real-time, offering helpful information about what the user is capturing in the snap.
It’s not just Apple Watches that could be getting cameras in the next couple of years. Gurman said Apple want to put Visual Intelligence at the core of its devices, including AirPods – renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo made the same prediction last year.
Apple currently leverages OpenAI and Google for its Visual Intelligence feature, but it wants to move toward its own AI models in the future, Gurman writes.
It’s hard to imagine Visual Intelligence being the feature that convinces someone to buy an Apple Watch. The AI wearables market suffered a huge blow with Humane’s disastrous Ai Pin. The device was slammed by reviewers upon release last year, and the company shut down the business in February following an acquisition by HP, bricking all the $700 devices in the process.
There’s also the underwhelming Apple Intelligence itself. The feature has been plagued by delays and criticized for generating incorrect summaries of news headlines. Apple is also facing a false advertising lawsuit for advertising the upgraded AI Siri and postponing the release until next year. The suit claims that Apple’s advertisements created the expectation that the Apple Intelligence features would be available upon the iPhone 16’s release.
