A new report suggests that the Meta smartwatch will launch sometime this year, but it likely won’t compete with the Apple Watch.
Based on the company’s previous comments, it may serve more as an add-on to a future Meta smartglass product…
Meta’s plans for a smartwatch were first revealed by a leaked image inside the company’s Ray-Ban Stories app back in 2021. A subsequent report said the company had put the project on hold before another announcement that it had been revived.
While there was no sign of this last year, Information brings a paid report saying the company is set to launch later this year.
It can be an accessory for smart glasses
It was previously speculated that the device was meant to complement smart glasses, and OVERHANG trust me this is pretty much the plan. In fact, it suggests that the watch may be primarily intended as an accessory for the company’s upcoming display-equipped smart glasses.
When I spoke with Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth last year, he told me that the neural band Meta released with Ray-Ban Display glasses last fall was something that would eventually make sense as part of a watch. That’s exactly what I think will happen this year (…)
A new neuron-equipped watch debuting with next-generation Ray-Ban Display glasses (hopefully with a wider range of subscription support and access for developers to build apps) would make a lot of sense, as Apple and Google look set to dive into the same territory.
9to5Mac’s Take
This seems likely. Based on its existing Ray-Ban Meta glasses, it appears the company is fully embracing smartglasses as its primary form factor for providing AI capabilities. The idea of turning a companion neural belt into at least a fitness tracker obviously makes a lot of sense.
The Meta smartwatch is unlikely to worry the Apple Watch team in Cupertino, but of course things will get a lot more interesting once the Apple Glasses product is launched.
Purely illustrative MrSamsung smartwatch image by Daniel Romero on Unsplash
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