Apple’s Latest Patent Points To Seamless Display Cameras On Future Apple Watch And iPhone
Apple is constantly working on its technology and looking for ways to stand out from the competition and its existing product offering. The company has been doing research on a display-integrated device where your iPhone or Apple Watch in the future could have a hidden camera behind the screen and only be visible when needed. It seems like its efforts will not be in vain, as it has been recently granted a revised patent that would allow for a camera hidden inside the display, which could be extended to Apple Watch as well.
Apple has been granted a revised patent for seamless Camera-in-Display Tech that could transform the Apple Watch and iPhone experience
We have not yet seen Apple Watch transform into a wrist-based video communicator like the one in Sci-Fi movies because it does not come with a camera. Apple has been working on changing that, and its efforts seem to bear fruit. The company has been given a new revised patent via Apple Insider detailing a method to hide the camera and the flash inside the screen and make them visible only where there is a need.
The new patent titled “Electronic devices with two-stage display” is meant to explore what the title states, basically, and that is the idea of having different display technologies within the same screen, which could be applied to any device that comes with a display, such as the iPhone, iPad, or MacBook. However, the patent also focuses on extending this feature to the Apple Watch to shape its experience. The main challenge Apple knows it would be facing is maintaining the compact design of the device and fitting the added components to it without having to compromise on the technology.
Apple’s patent highlights how the camera bumps on the back or even the notches on the front for the camera and sensors are not ideal for sleek and modern devices and may compromise their attractiveness. The main purpose of the new technology is to hide the camera and flash on the screen, making it invisible until needed, such as when taking a photo. While the patent is meant for any device on the screen, the focus remains on the Apple Watch since it does not offer a camera yet, one that does not add bulk or break the design and appearance of the wearable.
The patent explains how, by following a layered approach that has an inner layer for the pixel display and the outer layer for the light modulator, the company would be bringing a display that would reveal hidden components, such as the camera, only when needed. This is not the first time Apple is said to have tried to add a camera to the Apple Watch; earlier in 2025, the tech giant was also exploring the Apple Watch with a camera hidden inside the lid.
Even though the idea sounds refreshing, a patent does not guarantee the final product will be released. Hundreds of patents are applied every year, and many do not go past the concept stage. Nonetheless the new patent of having an embedded camera and flash within display does sound exciting and groundbreaking and who knows we might see it incorporated by Apple in the long run.
