Fancy using your Apple Watch to take a picture? Future devices could come with this feature thanks to a new patent awarded to Apple.
Earlier this month, Apple received a patent earlier from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) titled ‘Watch Having A Release Mechanism.’
According to the filing, Apple Watch users could have access to a camera located on the bottom of the device.
The patent outlines a special watch band with a quick-release feature that would allow the watch to easily be disconnected from the band allowing users to take pictures and videos with the rear-facing camera.
Once they’re done using the camera, users can put the watch back in the base of the band which locks it in.
The design allows for a ‘nest’ portion of the band with a releasable attachment such as a latch or a magnet.
This would allow ‘the watch housing to be removed from the nest portion without a need to remove the entire watch band from the wrist…’
This is hardly the first patent that Apple has filed for an Apple Watch camera.
In 2019, Apple received a patent for a flexible optical sensor that was placed at the end of an Apple Watch band.
The band would flex to help point the optical sensor at the subject of a photo or video.
Notably, the Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch featured a 1.9-megapixel camera which wasn’t a hit.
While Apple has the patents, the iPhone maker still hasn’t announced any plans for a smartwatch camera yet.
Currently, accessories like the Wristcam provide Apple Watch users with bands that come with a front- and back-facing camera for picture and video.
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