According to Patently Apple, the Cupertino-based iPhone maker wants to get into the action camera game. Yesterday it was granted its own patent to start developing an action camera with a remote control – to go head-to-head with GoPro.

Apparently the patent was filed as far back as 2012, before Apple took over the intellectual property it bought from Kodak in 2013.

The patent seems to be taking aim at GoPro’s HD Hero 2 camera, noting that its pronounced silhouette creates a number aerodynamic issues for users. Since the patent was filed in 2012, it would explain the referencing of the Hero 2, which is a good number of years old.

“There remains a need to provide a digital camera that can be used in a “conventional” capture mode, where the digital camera is held by the user while capturing digital images, and which can also be used in “streamlined” mounted mode, which provides a lower profile and reduced wind resistance when the digital camera captures images while mounted to moving object such as a bicycle,” the patent listed explains.

The abstract from the listing (below) give a better explanation as to what the patent entails:

“A digital camera system includes an image capture module and a remote control module. The image capture module includes an image capture system and a first wireless communication system. The remote control module includes a status display with one or more status display elements for displaying status information pertaining to the image capture module, a battery-operated power supply, one or more user controls, a second wireless communication, and a power management system providing a normal-power state and a low-power state.”

The patent does sound a bit Apple Watch-esque, so whether the action camera will ever be developed is yet to be seen. If you want to read through the entire listing and browse some of the accompanying images, click here (USPTO), here (USPTO Image) or here (Google Patents).

[Source – USPTO, Patently Apple, Image – Google Patents]