While everyone’s still trying to wrap their head around Facebook Inc’s name change to Meta Platforms Inc, the social media giant has some big plans up their sleeves. They are reportedly working on a smartwatch that will directly compete with the Apple Watch in terms of size and design. A photo of the device was spotted in the app for the company’s smart glasses that they recently launched in partnership with Ray-Ban. Codenamed “Milan”, the wearable is expected to launch sometime next year.
Bloomberg reports that app developer Steve Moser found the image for Meta’s smartwatch that is still currently in development. It was found inside the app called Facebook View which is used to manage their new smart glasses. It looks to have a detachable wrist strap and a button at the top of the watch case.
It has a front-facing camera at the bottom of the display so it will most likely be used for video calls and video conferencing which should make it a rarity among the current crop of smartwatches. The Apple Watch and other devices from rivals like Samsung currently don’t have cameras on their wearables. The camera will reportedly be able to capture both photos and videos and then will let users download media to a phone.
A person “with knowledge of the matter” said that Meta is actually working on three generations of the smartwatch, with the first one scheduled to be launched in 2022. If that still remains on schedule despite the name change and the recent issues that the company is facing, then they may go head-to-head with Apple who is planning to launch three new watches in 2022. This will also mark another foray for Meta into hardware as they currently have virtual headsets and Portal video-chat devices.
Meta seems to be pushing for augmented reality and virtual reality as part of their future plans. Having a smartwatch may not be an obvious part yet of that but it can also be used as a tool given the right features, hardware and software-wise.
