Meta plans to launch a health-tracking, AI-powered smartwatch later this year, along with an updated version of its Meta Ray-Ban Display smartwatches, Information news. The smartwatch would arrive ahead of a pair of mixed reality glasses codenamed Phoenix, which Meta has reportedly delayed until 2027 as part of efforts to streamline the company’s AR and MR plan.
Meta previously scrapped plans for an earlier smartwatch in 2022 due to technical challenges and cost-cutting measures. If the new watch, codenamed Malibu 2, comes to fruition, it would step up competition with Apple, which is said to be working on a pair of AI smart glasses that could be launched next year, potentially competing with the Meta line of glasses. The Meta would also face significant competition for space on users’ wrists from Google, Garmin, Samsung, Fitbit and others.
The Malibu 2 smartwatch follows Meta’s launch of its Ray-Ban Display AR glasses last year, which the company says proved so popular that they had to pause the international launch of the glasses due to “unprecedented demand and limited supplies.” Ray-Ban Display glasses use a neural bracelet for gesture control, which could potentially be replaced by a smart watch.