Apple is reportedly developing camera-equipped Apple Watches to support AI-driven Visual Intelligence, with an anticipated launch within the next two years, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the latest Power On newsletter.
For the standard Apple Watch Series, the cameras are expected to be embedded within the display, while the Apple Watch Ultra would house its camera on the side, near the digital crown and button. These cameras would allow the smartwatch to analyze its surroundings and utilize AI to deliver contextual insights – a capability Apple is also exploring for future AirPods models featuring built-in cameras.
Read more: Apple To Bring Live Translation To AirPods, Report Says
The Visual Intelligence features first debuted on the iPhone 16, where the camera assists users by extracting details from an event flyer to update a calendar or retrieving restaurant information through image recognition. Initially leveraging AI models from external developers, Apple aims to transition these features to its own in-house AI models by 2027, which aligns with the projected launch timeline for the next-generation Apple Watch and AirPods.
The expansion of AI across Apple’s wearables is heavily influenced by Mike Rockwell, who, according to Gurman, has been tasked with bringing the delayed Siri LLM upgrade back on track. Rockwell, who previously led the Vision Pro project, will also continue working on visionOS, Apple’s software for mixed-reality devices.
Beyond smartwatches and earbuds, Apple is rumored to be developing AI-powered AR glasses, inspired by Meta’s Orion concept, though these are expected to remain in development for several more years before hitting the market.
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