Meta’s Smartwatch is Back from the Dead to Challenge Apple
Concept render [iDrop News / AI]
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It seems that Meta’s plans for its own smartwatch aren’t entirely dead. While we heard rumors of a “Facebook Watch” in 2021, by the following year, several sources were reporting that the project had been shelved as Meta shifted its priorities and restructured its Reality Labs division to focus on augmented reality glasses.
At the time, many felt that was it for Meta’s watch ambitions, until some supply chain hints last year suggested the project was being ramped back up. Now, Jyoti Mann at The Information confirms that it’s not just happening, but that Meta’s first smartwatch may be on the market by the end of the year.
However, it sounds like the social media giant may have scaled back its ambitions slightly. While the 2021 report pointed to a lineup of camera-equipped watches, Mann reports that it’s narrowed the focus to a single product, code-named “Malibu 2” — and it may not feature a camera, after all.
Instead, the Malibu 2 would be marketed as a health-tracking and AI wearable, intended to pair with an updated version of the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses that are expected to launch alongside it or soon after. The glasses, codenamed “Phoenix,” would provide the “eyes” while the watch would offer a companion user interface that would potentially act as an alternative for the Neural Band that’s used for gesture controls with the current Ray-Ban Display glasses that launched last year.
Despite an awkward start, Meta’s latest smart glasses have turned out to be a big hit, to the point where the company announced it was pausing its international rollout to the UK, France, Italy, and Canada due to “unprecedented demand and limited inventory.”
Meta versus Apple
When we heard plans for Meta’s original “Facebook Watch” in 2021, it seemed like an ambitious project that was intended to beat Apple to the punch by being the first to add a camera to the wrist. By all accounts, the idea was a Dick Tracy-style dual-camera system, with a selfie camera on the front for video calling and a rear 1080p auto-focus camera that would be used by unclipping the main watch assembly from a frame.
We’re not sure whether the powers that be at Meta just realized that was a bad idea, but the world has seemingly moved past such gimmicky notions. In 2026, smartwatches are rapidly becoming AI accessories in addition to their more traditional roles as health and fitness devices. Meta will undoubtedly lean into both of those angles, but in this case it’s not entirely clear where it believes its competitive edge will be.
After all, it’s not just the Apple Watch; Meta will also be lining up against Google, Garmin, Samsung, and Fitbit, to name just a few. Leaving aside its social media prowess (which isn’t necessarily a benefit for a wearable), the biggest advantage Meta has is that it’s already produced one of the most successful pairs of smart glasses on the market. A watch that integrates tightly with those could be just as appealing as the Apple Watch is to iPhone users.
Still, it’s going to face an uphill battle. Apple already has the home field advantage on hundreds of millions of wrists, and is reportedly preparing to meet Meta on its turf with its own set of smart glasses. Apple also reportedly considered adding cameras to the Apple Watch, but strictly for AI object recognition, not video calling or photography. However, it abandoned that idea when it realized that the wrist really isn’t an ideal place from which to capture visual data, as the angles are all wrong and it’s frequently covered by clothing.
Instead, Apple will focus on putting cameras into not only a new set of smart glasses, but also AirPods and even a rumored pendant. Meta may be ahead in the smart glasses game, but Apple CEO Tim Cook is said to be “hell-bent on creating an industry-leading product before Meta can,” so it’s not likely to hold onto this advantage for long.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
