If you’re disappointed that the Apple Watch doesn’t boast a built-in camera, you may be interested to hear about a new watch band available for pre-order today.
Called CMRA, the third-party Apple Watch strap boasts a pair of HD camera with the ability for users to carry out “seamless photo and video capture” directly from their wrists.
Photo: Glide
“As smartwatches become independent of the phone, wrist cameras will become commonplace for capturing memories and communicating visually. We are thrilled to be the first to deliver on this long-awaited vision—something science fiction has imagined for over half a century,” says Ari Roisman, CEO of manufacturer Glide.
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Despite the sentiment, this isn’t the first case of a smart watch offering photography features. Samsung’s subpar Galaxy Gear smartwatch previously offered an embedded 1.9-megapixel camera, through which images could be snapped and then browsed on the watch and the Galaxy Note III.
Where CMRA is different is in the quality of the camera (and the fact that it’s on Apple Watch). The new strap includes an 8-megapixel outward-facing camera and 2-megapixel self-facing camera.
Using a dedicated app, it’s then possible to easily share all photos and videos captured with CMRA on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other apps. In addition, CMRA is Bluetooth and WiFi-enabled for rapid and seamless media transfer to iPhone or iCloud.
The strap won’t be available for shipping until early 2017, but it can be pre-ordered today for $149 — marking $100 off the $249 it will eventually retail at.
Whether it is desirable, or even possible, to take high quality photos using an Apple Watch remains to be seen, but this is certainly a device I can see appealing to a number of users.
Would you be among them? Leave your comments below.
