Apple Abandons Camera-Equipped Apple Watch Plans, Shifts Focus to AI-Powered AirPods and Smart Glasses

Apple Reportedly Abandons Plans to Make a Smartwatch With a Camera

Recent rumors have suggested Apple is experimenting with adding a camera to its smartwatches, but it appears that might not happen. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, people familiar with the matter at Apple have said development on the project has ended. The company reportedly wanted to trial a camera on its main Apple Watch and Watch Ultra models to make better use of AI features. Previous rumors said it was aiming for a 2027 release, which would have likely been the Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4. According to Bloomberg's sources, Apple is continuing to develop a model of AirPods with a camera. It's unclear how this would work in practice; the camera could sit on the earbuds themselves, or as part of the charging case. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed this week that this model, expected to be the AirPods Pro 3, won't arrive until 2026. Bloomberg's report also follows up on Apple's heavily rumored smart glasses. It says the company is now eyeing a 2026 reveal for one of its two expected models. A previous report from Bloomberg said Apple wouldn't release the glasses until 2027 or later, but the latest intel suggests it's ramping up production faster than originally anticipated. Apple will likely focus on a pair of glasses without augmented reality (AR) functionality as a rival to Meta's Ray-Ban collaboration. They're expected to feature both cameras and microphones to allow you to interact with Apple Intelligence. This comes after Google showed off prototype Android XR glasses at I/O this week. As we found in or hands on, the hardware looks promising, and it should benefit from changing attitudes about smart glasses. ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Apple's former Chief Design Officer Jony Ive are also working on future AI-powered products, they announced this week, though they're not expected to be wearables. Elsewhere at Apple, it may be that future versions of the iPhone will see price increases. President Donald Trump announced on Friday he would be placing a 25% tariff on all iPhone imports if Apple refuses to move production of phones to the United States. Apple was reportedly already considering a price rise for its iPhone 17 release. The company has yet to comment on Trump's demands.

Apple Stops Work on Camera-Equipped Apple Watch Planned for 2027

Apple is no longer planning to release an Apple Watch that includes a camera, reports Bloomberg. Apple was developing Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra models that had a camera to view the wearer's surrounding environment, but work on those projects ended this week. The camera in the Apple Watch would not have been used for features like FaceTime or snapping photos, but instead would have allowed Apple Watch owners to get information about objects and places near them. An Apple Watch might have been able to do things like provide hours when pointed at a restaurant or store, identify a plant, describe an object, or offer language translations. The wearable camera functionality would have worked much like Visual Intelligence, an AI iPhone feature that lets users point their camera at something to get more information. Apple planned to release the camera-equipped Apple Watch models in 2027, but the plans are off. It's possible Apple could bring the technology back in the future, and it's not known why development ended. Though Apple is no longer planning for an Apple Watch with a camera, it's still developing AirPods with tiny cameras inside. The AirPods cameras may be infrared sensors to enable features like enhanced spatial audio, in-air gesture control, and AI capabilities.

Apple Watch with cameras reportedly canceled

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

Apple Scraps Plans For A 2027 Apple Watch With Built-In Camera, Which Was Expected To Work Similarly To The iPhone's Visual Intelligence Feature For On-Wrist Image Recognition

Apple was planning to release an Apple Watch with a built-in camera for 2027 models, but recent reports from Bloomberg point that the company has stopped working on the device for good. The company was developing the camera for the standard and the Ultra models of the Apple Watch which would have allowed users to view the surrounding environment conjoined with some AI-powered features. The report claims that the project has been scrapped this week. If you are not familiar, the camera on the Apple Watch is not like the camera on the iPhone it can be used for FaceTime or taking photos. The Apple Watch with a camera would have allowed users to get information about objects and places, something similar to Visual Intelligence on the iPhone. Apple could have been developing the feature to port certain Apple Intelligence features on the Apple Watch, probably something like Visual Intelligence. To be fair, the feature would have made a lot of sense as the Apple Watch is the perfect wearable for travelers for translation purposes, and adding Visual Intelligence to the device would have made it a lot more useful. Other than this, the Apple Watch with a built-in camera could also have allowed users to see hours when pointed to restaurants or stores, identify plants, or describe an object, which would have been a very useful Accessibility feature. It was previously noted that the company will release the Apple Watch with a camera in 2027, but it appears that the company has stopped developing it as of this week. The report does not state any reason why the company had to go through this route, but it could be due to technical difficulties, as the Apple Watch is a very small device with limited space on the inside compared to the iPhone. Moreover, we are not sure if the company will introduce the technology in the future. While the company has stopped working on the camera-equipped Apple Watch, its plans to launch AirPods with cameras still live on. However, the functionality of these camera sensors would be completely different than that of the iPhone or the rumored Apple Watch. The AirPods cameras will be infrared sensors to enable features like enhanced spatial audio, AI controls, and in-air gestures for easier controls. We will share additional details on the accessory as soon as further information is available.