Apple has filed a patent to add a camera to its watch lineup.
Apple was granted a patent (US-11571048-B1) for an Apple Watch strap release mechanism that could potentially be used with a built-in camera.
The patent, first spotted by Patently Apple, details a strap with two segments and a “nest” portion that could be used to quickly pop the watch out of the strap. The idea behind this mechanism is to open up new ways to use the Apple Watch, including taking pictures with a built-in camera.
The patent illustrates a person holding the strapless watch to take a picture, and a cross-section of an Apple Watch with a bottom-facing built-in camera and its field of view. To take a picture, the user would simply pop out the watch, hold up the camera portion, and snap a picture.
While the idea of a watch with a camera sounds good, especially if you’re out on your morning walk and need to take a quick snap of something, but it might compromise safety if it falls into the wrong hands. A user might use it to record someone without their permission and knowledge and the thought of it is quite uncomfortable.
This is not the first time Apple has filed camera-related patents for the Apple Watch. The company was granted another patent last year simply titled “Watch having a camera.” This patent described a camera placed within the digital crown and had diagrams that were similar to those in the recent patent.
There’s already a third-party Apple Watch accessory called the Wristcam that functions similarly.
