Apple Watch's next big AI enhancement might be a built-in camera

Apple appears to be pushing to make its wearables perform more AI functions.

The iPhone maker already has in the works AirPods that will have built-in cameras to take pictures to know the environment around it. A new report now says the company wants to do something similar with the Apple Watch.

Apple is reportedly planning to add a camera to its Apple Watch, as reported by Bloomberg Sunday. The reported plan is to have a camera added to both the standard Apple Watch Series and Apple Watch Ultra. It would be placed in the standard watch's display while the Ultra would have it on the side where the crown is.

The camera would be able to see the environment around it and use AI to provide the user with whatever information they want.

This feature, according to the report, is still a long way from happening, so don't expect it to show up on the next Apple Watch, which is likely to be shown this September.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for confirmation on the report.

What is new in the Apple Watch Series 11?

There is little doubt that a new Apple Watch is coming later this year. The company tends to release the new line in September along with the newest iPhone.

As for the Apple Watch Series 11, right now, there isn't much we know about it. There are rumors that it might have a MicroLED display to provide better colors and higher resolutions. It's also likely that the new watch will have better battery life and a faster processor. It's still too early to know what Apple wants to do with the smartwatch, but we could get a better idea in June when the company puts on the Worldwide Developer Conference where it shows the upcoming features for the next big software update for the wearable, WatchOS 12.

What likely won't be showing up in the next watch is a blood pressure monitor. Bloomberg reports Apple continues to have issues implementing the feature. The company has been working on the feature for years, but it appears that it won't be coming to fruition anytime soon.

Will Apple figure out AI?

AI is the rage right now in tech, and it's clear Apple want to make it a part of its ecosystem. However, it seems to just not find that sweet spot in quality it wants for all of its products.

Apple Intelligence launched last fall shortly after the release of the iPhone 16, but it's been a slow rollout of features. It can do some neat stuff like summarize text messages, remove objects from photos, and prioritize notifications that the AI thinks you care about most.

Those features, however, aren't really the AI revolution Apple seemingly was going for when it revealed Apple Intelligence last September.

One of its biggest planned features involving AI was overhauling the iPhone digital assistant Siri. The company intended for Siri to be a true AI assistant that understands an iPhone user's personal information such as pulling up a task to do in an old email or knowing what a family member is doing based on texts and calendar details.

This new Siri was to make its debut sometime this spring, but Apple delayed the feature, and it may not show up until sometime next year.

Following the setback, Apple recently reshuffled the leadership of the team developing Siri. Mike Rockwell, who led the team in creating the Apple Vision Pro, was reportedly put in charge of the Siri team last week. It remains unclear if Rockwell can get the team past the finish line in the coming months, if not years.