CMRA Apple Watch camera band adds a 2MP selfie cam and an 8MP shooter for $249, preorders start now at $199, ships in spring
The downside is the CMRA costs upward of $150 and won't be shipping until spring. — In building its smartwatch, Apple designed it without a camera …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple deliberately built the Watch without a camera — its own FaceTime-camera plans for Watch 2 never materialized in shipping hardware — leaving the wrist-capture slot open to accessory makers. CMRA is stepping into that gap with a $249 band pairing a 2MP selfie cam and an 8MP rear shooter, discounted to $199 for early preorders.
It isn't alone: Wristcam's $299 camera band drew a $25M raise on the same thesis, and Bloomberg now reports Apple itself plans to add cameras to the Watch for Visual Intelligence. CMRA is launching into a window that has a visible closing date.
First-order effects
- Buyers get iPhone-free wrist capture — selfies and rear shots straight from the band — at a $199 preorder price undercutting Wristcam's $299 by $100.
- Wristcam faces its first direct price competition in the Apple Watch camera-band niche it effectively had to itself.
Second-order effects
- If Apple ships native Watch cameras per the Bloomberg report, every band-based camera maker's product line risks obsolescence mid-cycle, pressuring both CMRA and Wristcam toward software or multi-watch differentiation.
- Accessory pricing in this niche compresses toward the sub-$200 tier CMRA just set, since neither player can justify premium pricing against a looming first-party alternative.
Third-order effects
- Third-party camera bands look like a transitional category: the durable value accrues to whoever owns the capture pipeline, and Apple's Visual Intelligence push suggests that owner will be Apple, not the accessory ecosystem.
- A camera-equipped Watch would complete the device's independence from the iPhone for capture and interaction — the endpoint of the autonomy arc Apple has pursued since the original Watch.
The trend: Wearable camera capability is migrating from third-party accessories into first-party smartwatch hardware as Apple builds its own on-device AI stack.