Apple may have a secret weapon when it comes to AI devices.
On Sunday, reports from Bloomberg surfaced suggesting Apple may add a camera to the Apple Watch to provide visual context for AI, giving it multimodal abilities similar to Meta's Ray-Ban glasses.
(Think: pointing your device at a pair of shoes and then asking where you can buy them.)
Apple has had a slow start bringing AI to its devices, but the Apple Watch might be the perfect place for Apple's AI features to stand out, despite Apple being late to the AI party.
Unfortunately for Apple, while the Watch could be the key to its success in AI, there's still one big problem: Siri delays.
Could Apple succeed where other AI wearables failed?
I'll admit, at first, I was skeptical about whether the Apple Watch needed a camera. Smartwatches aren't exactly the ideal form factor for photography, after all. That's not what Apple is planning to use this camera for, though, at least, not according to reporting.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the purpose of a camera on the Apple Watch would be to effectively turn it into an AI wearable. The camera would gather visual context about the user's surroundings to inform AI requests, questions, and tasks. A similar visual intelligence feature is available on the iPhone 16, as well, using the new camera control button.
The camera would gather visual context about the user's surroundings to inform AI requests, questions, and tasks.
If you heard anything about the ill-fated Humane AI pin or Rabbit R1 from last year, that may sound eerily familiar.
Those devices, both flops, attempted to act as standalone AI devices. The Humane AI pin was even a wearable like the Apple Watch. Neither one managed to click with users. So, you'd be forgiven for thinking it would be a mistake to use those devices as a model for the future of the Apple Watch.
However, Apple might be onto something here.
The Apple Watch is the most popular smartwatch in the world by a long shot. It's arguably the most popular wearable, period. Even if the Humane AI pin hadn't had a slew of problems, it would have always struggled to compete for users because it was a new type of wearable with a completely new and unusual user interface.
The Apple Watch doesn't have that problem. It's a wearable people already know and love, with features and functionality beyond AI, which might be exactly why it's the perfect place for Apple to succeed in AI where Humane and Rabbit failed.
Apple doesn't need to convert users to the Apple Watch. They're already there. Apple has few rivals in the wearables space and already collects a wealth of user data, particularly regarding fitness, that would be invaluable for building a good personalized AI experience.
All Apple needs now is a modern AI. That's the problem.
The Apple Watch could be an AI superstar... but not without Siri
Apple's existing dominance in the wearables market gives it an edge Humane and Rabbit didn't have, one that could make the Apple Watch the most popular "AI gadget" and help Apple find success in AI despite being late to the party.
Making the Apple Watch a worthy AI device hinges on Apple's big Siri update that was promised back at WWDC 2024. The Large Language Model (LLM) version of Siri has been plagued by delays, setting its release back until 2026 or possibly even 2027, according to recent rumors.
There are still some AI features Apple could bring to the Watch in the meantime, like a ChatGPT integration, but as long as LLM Siri is stuck in development, making the Watch a genuine AI device will be out of reach.
That may be part of why Bloomberg's report hints that an Apple Watch with a camera is still "generations away from hitting the market." So, we probably won't see that upgrade on the Watch Series 11, but it could be a possibility for the Watch Series 12, or potentially the Ultra 3 or Ultra 4.
Apple seems to be aware that the pressure is on to launch LLM Siri and the rest of its promised Apple Intelligence features. It recently replaced the executive in charge of its AI department, bringing over Mike Rockwell instead (who was behind the Vision Pro's development).
Apple is also facing a lawsuit for false advertising about Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 16, which surely isn't helping CEO Tim Cook's team.
Only time will tell whether or not Apple can find its footing in AI, but I think it could be heading in the right direction by focusing on AI wearables.
