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.
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.
