Top leaker says Apple Watch will get camera – but I can tell you it'll be controversial!

Mark Gurman, who writes about Apple for Bloomberg subscribers and is a reliable source of leaks from the tech giant, has suggested that Apple is working on adding a camera to its famous smartwatch, the Apple Watch.

It didn't take a lot of research to discover what this might look like because there are already some dubious clones of the Apple Watch Ultra out there that include a camera, like the Android-based DW99 S9 Ultra (see DW99 on Amazon) pictured (easier to find in the Eurasian markets).

In fact smartwatches with cameras are something of a product category which can be found in tech stores in the Far East, but are less known in the West. So we know the tech is feasible. And we also know Apple has shown some interest as far back as 2023, taking a patent for a watch with a camera.

So far, though the nearest we've come to an Apple Watch camera is the Wristcam accessory I reviewed.

So what is different now? The biggest change seems to be the arrival of AI. Apple has begun adding features to Apple Intelligence which are able to see and recognise objects in much the same way that other AI helpers have already demonstrated and, for many technologists, the current goal seems to be an AI device which can actually replace the need to carry a phone.

So far it has to be said that this tech hasn't exactly caught the public imagination. A notable example is the Humane Ai Pin, a device worn like a Star Trek:The Next Generation communicator badge, with a camera that saw the world around it to help the AI establish context.

One of the problems (not one it is easy to believe Apple can actually solve before the next Watch comes out) is that the AI processing had to take place remotely, leading to a processing lag and the need for constant network connection. But Apple presumably needs to stay in the race with Meta adding AI to RayBan glasses.

So, Apple Intelligence has had a Visual Intelligence feature (see Apple Support) since the iPhone 16 launch last year, and the feature will also be added to the Vision Pro next month.

The Watch, though, is clearly a more widely accessible (and modestly priced – for now) way of getting such a feature out there, and Gurman says Apple isn't just thinking of the most expensive ones: Apple "is considering adding cameras to both its standard Series watches and Ultra models."

Apparently, the camera positioning for the Series watches would be in the display, while it may be in the side for the Ultra – perhaps making it the only model which could be directed (perhaps in a manner similar to the JINSHANGZI DW99 S9 Ultra watch pictured at the top of this story). That company though may not even have the same name from one country to the next!

Personally, I'm willing to bet that when a company with a profile as big as Apple's offers such a discrete camera as one built into a watch there will be more than a few serious discussions about the risks of hidden cameras, upskirting and photographic consent. Even if Apple completes a prototype, it must also decide it is ready for that to allow photography (as opposed to AI functionality).

Will it? We can only wait and see.

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