Wristcam is a $299 Apple Watch band with a camera

Posted:
in Apple Watch edited December 2020
The $299 Wristcam is an Apple Watch band that allows for photography and video calls to be made directly from the watch, without relying on an iPhone's imaging capabilities.

Wristcam on an Apple Watch
Wristcam on an Apple Watch


Launching after five years in development, the Wristcam bills itself as the first camera made for the Apple Watch and is the first smart band to be granted Apple's "Made for Apple Watch" designation. Rather than using the Apple Watch to remotely trigger cameras on an iPhone, the Wristcam gives the Apple Watch the ability to take images for itself.

The band was initially introduced in 2016 and was open to preorders at that time. Rather than releasing the product, the company instead worked closely with Apple to make it work better with the Apple Watch and get the "Made for Apple Watch" label.

Consisting of an 8-megapixel camera to capture the world and a 2-megapixel camera for portrait shots, the camera can take both photographs and videos, all from the Apple Watch. Using a single button below the camera, a tap will snap a picture while a long press records video, while a double-tap switches which camera is in use.





Connecting to the Apple Watch via Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi, the Wristcam can be used independently of an iPhone. However, the company does provide Wristcam Apple Watch and iPhone apps, which serve as a viewfinder and a gallery and offer other controls. The apps enable videos and photos captured by the camera to be shared via any Apple-connected app or service, including most social networks.

Wristcam also enabled the ability to do video calling with the accessory, using it to record and share video messages with other users and video chat in real-time.

The Wristcam has two cameras, as well as a button for triggering photos and video.
The Wristcam has two cameras, as well as a button for triggering photos and video.


The device has what Wristcam claims is an all-day battery, while its built-in 8GB of memory enables it to store over an hour of 1080p video or thousands of images instead of offloading everything to the Apple Watch's storage. It can automatically synchronize new photos and video with an iPhone while charging, providing users with a form of backup and quicker access to captured media.

The camera is housed in an interchangeable band, with initial colors of Noir, Blanc, Gray, Rose, and Sage offered, while its lightweight construction at 23 grams means it won't be a massive increase in weight on the user's wrist. It is also water-resistant to a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes and is supplied with a magnetic charging cable.

Optimized to work with thee Apple Watch Series 4 and later, but compatible with the Series 1 onwards, the Wristcam is priced at $299 and is available now. Those who preordered the CMRA are now receiving their orders, with the company aiming to fulfill all of them before the holidays.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,103member
    Interesting. What are the expected use cases for such a bulky addition to the wrist?
    dr.nelsonwilliamlondonolswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 23

    (face-palm)    .....

    edited December 2020 williamlondonols80s_Apple_Guyrazorpitwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 23
    Ugly as Hell. 
    williamlondonpeterhartolsmikeybabes80s_Apple_Guyrazorpitwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 23
    bonobobbonobob Posts: 395member
    Dick Tracy was no doubt their first customer. 
    OctoMonkeyHirsuteJimwilliamlondonols80s_Apple_Guyrazorpitwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 23
    I think I'll wait for the next version which I'm sure will look better than this one. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 23
    dr.nelson said:
    I think I'll wait for the next version which I'm sure will look better than this one. 
    That assumes there will be a "next" version. Hard to develop new products with no sales income.
    randominternetpersonwilliamlondonpeterhartrazorpitrattlhedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 23
    uraharaurahara Posts: 733member
    I think it's really cool.
    It makes Appel Watch really more universal. 
    It's just cool to be able to answer FaceTime call without getting your phone from the pocket. 
    Of course, often it would be more convenient to have an iPhone for that call. But This camera on the watch ads flexibility and options.

    Great (even though I am not going to buy one).
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 23
    uraharaurahara Posts: 733member

    hmlongco said:
    dr.nelson said:
    I think I'll wait for the next version which I'm sure will look better than this one. 
    That assumes there will be a "next" version. Hard to develop new products with no sales income.
    True. Hahahaha.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 23
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 3,050member
    It’s an interesting idea and I do understand that engineering compromises sometimes have to be made to get the product out. Overall I think they did fairly well considering space and battery constraints. That said I suspect this is why Apple is resisting the calls from some quarters to include a camera in then AppleWatch. 
    randominternetpersonGeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 23
    I’ve been waiting for this since late 2016. There’s no way in hell I’d pay the full price but when I supported, I think it was something $125. Wasn’t sure it was ever going to actually launch and they went as far as banning me from commenting on their Facebook page and removing my comments when I took them to task for the complete lack of updates. That said, I’ll be happy to get mine and even if I don’t use it as my full time watch band, it’ll still be fun to mess around with. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 23
    Imagine what it will look like once you attach the 22x telephoto lens to it!  Surreptitious photography at it's finest!

    Being a certified Luddite, I am sticking with my Casio WQV-2 Wrist Camera.


    razorpitwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 23
    let me fix this: 

    Wristcam is a $299 <hideous> Apple Watch band with a camera

    peterhartwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 23
    Fugly beyond belief!

    This is so bulky that you are sure to bump against something and break it the very first time you wear it.
    Japheywatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 23
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,750member
    It certainly looks like something that you would find in the "House Arrest" aisle of your local law enforcement toy store, right next to the "Coneheads Invisible Fence for Humans" collars.  
    edited December 2020 watto_cobraStrangeDays
  • Reply 15 of 23
    edited December 2020 watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 23
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,067member

    (face-palm)    .....

    Don't do that with the Wristcam on, you might hurt yourself! /s
    razorpitwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 23
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,485member
    Apple should break out the old iSight camera design for the watch. Use magnets to clip it on when you want it have it work as a standalone camera you could keep in your pocket. Team with 3rd party to make lens for it.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 23
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Interesting. What are the expected use cases for such a bulky addition to the wrist?

    Increasingly I am leaving my iPhone at home or in the car and venture forth with just my LTE Apple Watch.   It covers most functions I need in such situations.  But, FaceTime is not one of them.  That would be nice.  I'm not sure it would be nice enough to wear one of these bands, but still, it would be very nice to have. 

    I know my grandson uses FaceTime for pretty much every call he makes -- which, at 14, is becoming more and more frequent.  Not having it available would impair his much valued social life.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 23
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    JinTech said:

    (face-palm)    .....

    Don't do that with the Wristcam on, you might hurt yourself! /s
    And the person standing beside you...
    watto_cobraJinTech
  • Reply 20 of 23
    Jesus... what were they thinking during the design stage.
    watto_cobra
Sign In or Register to comment.