Meta reportedly working on reviving its smartwatch plans

Meta’s product portfolio comprises smart glasses and virtual reality/mixed reality headsets. Now, the company is reportedly reviving its smartwatch plans, four years after scrapping it off due to technical challenges and cost-cutting measures. The development comes hot on the heels of yesterday’s report that Apple is working on three AI-powered hardware products. 

Meta could be back to launching a smartwatch

Citing two people familiar with the matter, The Information reports that Meta’s smartwatch is internally codenamed Malibu 2. It is rumoured to come with health-tracking and AI features later this year. If this indeed turns out to be true, then the company could face a stiff competition in the wrist-based wearable devices space from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Garmin etc. 

Meta’s plans of smartwatch is also expected to be closely related to the launch of the Meta Ray Ban Display glasses last September. The AR wearable uses a neural wristband for gesture controls and this could potentially be replaced by the company’s smartwatch.  The Ray Ban Display’s wider rollout has been hit due to high demand and less supply in the US. 

As mentioned earlier, this wouldn’t be Meta’s first attempt at a smartwatch. The company was previously working on a model with two built-in cameras. The tech giant’s mixed-reality headset codenamed Phoenix has been reportedly pushed to 2027. 

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Meta is already planning an updated version of the Ray Ban Display. The rumoured smartwatch and display glasses could work similar to Apple’s tightly integrated ecosystem.  We should learn more details about Meta’s plans in the near future. 

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