Upcoming meta smartwatches probably won’t compete with the Apple Watch

According to a new report, the Meta smartwatch is expected to launch at some point this year, but it probably won’t compete with the Apple Watch.

According to the company’s previous comments, this could serve as an accessory for future Meta smart glasses products.

Meta’s smartwatch plans were first revealed in leaked images in the company’s Ray-Ban Stories app dating back to 2021. Later reports said the company had put the project on hold, while other reports said it had been revived.

There were no signs of that last year. information has a paywalled report stating that the company is aiming for a launch later this year.

It could become an accessory for smart glasses.

It had previously been speculated that the device was intended to complement smart glasses. CNET I believe this is exactly as planned. In fact, it suggests that the watch may be primarily intended as an accessory for the company’s upcoming display smart glasses.

When I spoke to Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, last year, he said that the Neural Band, which Meta released last fall with Ray-Ban display glasses, would eventually make sense as part of a watch. I think that’s exactly what will happen this year (…)

With Apple and Google seemingly ready to jump into the same space, it makes a lot of sense to debut a new Neural-powered watch with next-generation Ray-Ban display glasses (hopefully with broader subscription support and developer access for app creation).

9to5Mac’s opinion

This is certainly likely. Building on its existing Ray-Ban Meta glasses, the company appears to be going all-in on smart glasses as the primary form factor for delivering AI capabilities. The idea of ​​turning a companion neural band into at least a fitness tracker clearly makes a lot of sense.

The Meta smartwatch is unlikely to worry the Apple Watch team in Cupertino, but it goes without saying that things will get more interesting once Apple Glasses products are launched.

purely illustrative pSamsung smartwatch photos by Daniel Romero on Unsplash