New accessory adds cameras to the Apple Watch for video chats and more

If you ask Apple Watch owners what accessory they would like to own for the most popular watch in the world, it would probably be a camera. According to The Verge, this wish can now come true. After four years of development, the Wristcam is ready to replace the strap on your Apple timepiece to give you two cameras for the wat. One is an 8MP camera that shoots photos in 4K and videos in 1080p. There is also a 2MP selfie snapper.

Right now, the company is uh, focused on delivering the 10,000 units pre-ordered in a crowd-funding display. There were some issues that have delayed the project for several years, but right now everything is fine and those who hung around will reap the rewards. The others were given a refund. The units being prepped for shipping should arrive by the holidays.

Now that the Wristcam’s crowd-funding days are over, you can reserve units directly from the website priced at $299 each. The first orders being shipped directly to customers will arrive by March 2021. And with the Wristcam you’ll be able to engage in video chats with your Apple Watch; cool, huh? There are five color options to choose from, Noir, Blanc, Gray, Sage and Rose. Additional bands are available in Grape Crush, Twilight, and Henna.

Last year Apple received a patent for an Apple Watch wrist band camera, but it would appear that Wristcam is ahead of Apple in terms of specs. One area where Wristcam is going to have to make a change is with pricing. The novelty of the accessory might allow Wristcam to get away with a price tag of $299. But at that price, the band costs more than the lowest price Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 6.

The Wristcam was originally called the CMRA and uses the display on the timepiece. It also is equipped with an all-day battery; videos and stills shot with the cameras are synced to your iPhone when the Wristcam is charged at night using its magnetic charging cable. There is 8GB of photo and video storage and Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) is used to connect the device with an Apple Watch. And to sync the band with an iPhone, Bluetooth 4.2, 5.0, and Wi-Fi are used.

While it takes 20 seconds to share a photo with the Wristcam directly through Bluetooth, this feature won’t be available at launch and will require a software update.