Apple Watch with cameras reportedly canceled, but camera-equipped AirPods still on track

AppleInsider

Plans for an Apple Watch with Visual Intelligence and built-in cameras have been abandoned, but Apple's AirPods could still receive a similar upgrade.

Apple has allegedly abandoned its plans for a camera-equipped Apple Watch.

The idea of a camera-equipped Apple Watch is anything but new, appearing in Apple's patent applications as far back as 2019. The company has even considered multiple ways of including a camera, such as incorporating it into the Digital Crown or the Apple Watch strap.

More recently, in March 2025, a rumor suggested that the Apple Watch would gain cameras for Visual Intelligence features as well as world monitoring by 2027. On Thursday, however, a Bloomberg report revealed that Apple has since given up on the idea, and added that the company was working on smart glasses, set to debut in 2026.

Previously, Apple was allegedly going to add cameras to the standard Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra, with slight differences between the two. Both watch models were set to gain a front-facing lens inside the display, while the Ultra would have had a lens on the side, near the crown and button.

The addition of cameras would have allowed for Visual Intelligence features across the Apple Watch lineup. Visual Intelligence is currently available on the iPhone 16 range, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro. It lets users obtain information about their environment through the built-in camera device and Apple Intelligence, a suite of generative AI features.

With Visual Intelligence, users can add a calendar event by simply scanning a poster, or they can identify dog breeds with their iPhone camera. The idea of the effort is to use built-in cameras so that AI can see the outside world, which can be used to deliver detailed information that can enhance queries. The same concept would have made its way to the Apple Watch.

While it looks like we won't see Visual Intelligence on a smartwatch, camera-equipped AirPods are reportedly still in the works, and they'll likely offer the same functionality. The AirPod cameras could add Visual Intelligence information to the iPhone while still in the user's pocket, for example, or they might help guide users to their destination.

Apple has undoubtedly been trying to expand the availability of Apple Intelligence across its different platforms, but it looks like the company has yet to unveil a breakthrough AI product. Apple Intelligence itself has experienced delays, as the advanced Siri features previewed at WWDC 2024 are still not here.

Apple likely won't go the route of physical AI-themed products, such as the Rabbit R1.

As for dedicated AI-themed devices, it doesn't appear as though Apple has plans to go that route. Throughout 2024 and 2025 alone, many physical AI companion products have outright failed, with the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 being the two most noteworthy examples. The idea of having a third device, which users would carry alongside their iPhone and MacBook Pro, has never really caught on.

This more than likely influenced Apple's choice of improving existing product categories with AI instead, as they're unlikely to be phased out anytime soon. With iOS 19, Apple's AI models could become accessible to third-party app developers, which would allow for additional use cases and more AI-infused applications on iPhones. The OS update might also enable live translation features for AirPods.

Other companies, meanwhile, such as OpenAI, have decided to pursue physical AI-type devices after all. Specifically, an AI-themed necklace is said to be in the works. The artificial intelligence giant announced it had bought Sam Altman and Jony Ive's AI startup, known simply as "io," for $6.5 billion, but the result of this endeavor remains to be seen.




Rumor Score: Possible

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tht

I would think the number reason for a camera on an Apple Watch is for FaceTime. 

I think that feature is something they will have on the table for a while, especially with the Watch getting bigger and bigger.

Probably not worth the volume in a Watch, not yet anyway. 

applezulu

Good grief. Maybe before repeating any more rumors about AirPod cameras, have the graphics department try to come up with a viable non-comedic speculative image of that, because they won’t be able to. A camera in an ear bud makes no sense. An inward facing IR sensor to monitor body temperature, sure, but an outward-facing camera? Unless it’s for people living inside a cubist Picasso painting, it would be pointed in the wrong direction and constantly obstructed by users’ heads, ears and hair. 

apple4thewin

AppleZulu said:

Good grief. Maybe before repeating any more rumors about AirPod cameras, have the graphics department try to come up with a viable non-comedic speculative image of that, because they won’t be able to. A camera in an ear bud makes no sense. An inward facing IR sensor to monitor body temperature, sure, but an outward-facing camera? Unless it’s for people living inside a cubist Picasso painting, it would be pointed in the wrong direction and constantly obstructed by users’ heads, ears and hair. 

The only viable location I see for a camera would be at the ends of the stick so it would be mostly downward facing but at enough of an angle to “see” your hands and if you are writing on a table. (Assuming people wear AirPods the right way and not backwards, which triggers me when I see it in public 😂.)

applezulu

apple4thewin said:

AppleZulu said:

Good grief. Maybe before repeating any more rumors about AirPod cameras, have the graphics department try to come up with a viable non-comedic speculative image of that, because they won’t be able to. A camera in an ear bud makes no sense. An inward facing IR sensor to monitor body temperature, sure, but an outward-facing camera? Unless it’s for people living inside a cubist Picasso painting, it would be pointed in the wrong direction and constantly obstructed by users’ heads, ears and hair. 

The only viable location I see for a camera would be at the ends of the stick so it would be mostly downward facing but at enough of an angle to “see” your hands and if you are writing on a table. (Assuming people wear AirPods the right way and not backwards, which triggers me when I see it in public 😂.)

Even if you have a well-chilled jaw, your face would block 50% or more of the view, and more if you have chubby cheeks, a beard and/or long hair. This is simply not going to be a thing. 

tht

AppleZulu said:

apple4thewin said:

AppleZulu said:

Good grief. Maybe before repeating any more rumors about AirPod cameras, have the graphics department try to come up with a viable non-comedic speculative image of that, because they won’t be able to. A camera in an ear bud makes no sense. An inward facing IR sensor to monitor body temperature, sure, but an outward-facing camera? Unless it’s for people living inside a cubist Picasso painting, it would be pointed in the wrong direction and constantly obstructed by users’ heads, ears and hair. 

The only viable location I see for a camera would be at the ends of the stick so it would be mostly downward facing but at enough of an angle to “see” your hands and if you are writing on a table. (Assuming people wear AirPods the right way and not backwards, which triggers me when I see it in public 😂.)

Even if you have a well-chilled jaw, your face would block 50% or more of the view, and more if you have chubby cheeks, a beard and/or long hair. This is simply not going to be a thing. 

The more recent rumors have been saying that Apple is testing AirPods with infrared cameras, not video cameras. Infrared makes more sense. 

If it is pointed inward, it could be for measuring temperature and pulse. If it is pointed outward, it could be for hand gestures. 

Hard to see the features worth having larger AirPods though. Would definitely require more battery. Easy to see it being researched, seeing how small they can get it and have no impact on typical AirPods runtimes. With it being cancelled, if true, easy to say it is not ready yet. 

applezulu

tht said:

AppleZulu said:

apple4thewin said:

AppleZulu said:

Good grief. Maybe before repeating any more rumors about AirPod cameras, have the graphics department try to come up with a viable non-comedic speculative image of that, because they won’t be able to. A camera in an ear bud makes no sense. An inward facing IR sensor to monitor body temperature, sure, but an outward-facing camera? Unless it’s for people living inside a cubist Picasso painting, it would be pointed in the wrong direction and constantly obstructed by users’ heads, ears and hair. 

The only viable location I see for a camera would be at the ends of the stick so it would be mostly downward facing but at enough of an angle to “see” your hands and if you are writing on a table. (Assuming people wear AirPods the right way and not backwards, which triggers me when I see it in public 😂.)

Even if you have a well-chilled jaw, your face would block 50% or more of the view, and more if you have chubby cheeks, a beard and/or long hair. This is simply not going to be a thing. 

The more recent rumors have been saying that Apple is testing AirPods with infrared cameras, not video cameras. Infrared makes more sense. 

If it is pointed inward, it could be for measuring temperature and pulse. If it is pointed outward, it could be for hand gestures. 

Hard to see the features worth having larger AirPods though. Would definitely require more battery. Easy to see it being researched, seeing how small they can get it and have no impact on typical AirPods runtimes. With it being cancelled, if true, easy to say it is not ready yet. 

IR sensors directed inward to measure body temperature, sure. I said that at the top of this thread. You don’t need a camera for that, just a sensor, like the ones on thermometers you can buy right now. That’s not the rumor this site is promoting, though. They’re riffing on yet another Ming Chi Kuo pronouncement, which says “cameras,” and that only makes sense if you don’t think about it.