While device patents don’t guarantee anything, they can offer a glimpse into areas a company is exploring. Earlier this week, Apple was granted a patent (US-11571048-B1) for an Apple Watch strap release mechanism that could potentially be used with an integrated camera. That, by itself, is a good idea, but it’s also the third camera-related Apple Watch patent we’ve seen in recent years. The patent application was originally filed in 2019, so Apple engineers have clearly had wearable cameras on their brains for some time.
First seen by patent apple, the abstract and description section of the patent details a strap with two segments and a “nest” part. The concept was to create a quick and ergonomic way to remove the watch from the strap.
That, in turn, could open up new ways to use the Apple Watch that aren’t limited to the wrist, such as, as noted in the claims section, taking pictures with a built-in camera. Figure 3 of the patent illustrates a person holding a watch without a strap to take a picture. Figure 4 shows a cross section of an Apple Watch with a built-in camera facing downwards and its field of view. So you would essentially pull out the watch, lift the camera part up, and take a picture.
As patent apple Note, this isn’t even the first time Apple has filed camera-related patents for the Apple Watch. apple was granted another patent last year titled simply “Look with a camera”. He was describing a scenario where a camera was placed inside the digital crown, and one of the diagrams is basically identical to figure 3 above. In 2019, Apple won a patent for a rotating camera built into the end of a strap. Notably, there’s already a third-party Apple Watch accessory called Wristcam that works in a similar way.
Clearly, this was a concept that someone at Apple gave a lot of thought to. And there are legitimate reasons why a customer might want a smartwatch camera. One of the big draws of the Apple Watch is that it allows iPhone users to spend less time on their phones, and potentially even leave it behind when running errands, going for a walk, or working out. But who hasn’t been out and about and seen something they wanted to take a picture of to send to friends and family? Without your phone, you would have no proof. And, as they say, photos or it did not happen.
The most risky use case would be discreetly taking a photo or filming a recording. That, plus technology constraints like size and battery, may be why we haven’t seen many companies explore this idea further. As the original Google Glass demonstrated, the idea that someone may be secretly recording you leaves many uncomfortable. (Although, Meta was rumored to be working on a smartwatch with not one but two cameras before allegedly dismissing the idea.)
In any case, it bears repeating that patents are not a guarantee of nothing. Big Tech often proactively files patents for ideas just in case. It’s entirely possible that Apple has put a lot of thought into cameras and decided against it, or there’s a chance that a future Apple Watch will have a built-in camera. Either way, it’s worth noting that portable cameras are something tech companies are thinking about, and what that could mean for smartwatches in the future.
