Facebook Inc. has rebranded itself as Meta Platforms Inc. recently. That might be a good move to avoid at least a few Facebook haters. However, the most exciting leak today is Meta’s smartwatch, which will probably compete with Apple Watch in the future.
According to the leaked smartwatch image published by Bloomberg, it has rounded corners similar to the Apple Watch, and it also has a front-facing camera. The camera notch is clearly visible in the photo, and it looks like even Meta is following the iPhone and the latest Macbook Pro (2021 models) camera notch design, even if most people hate the notch. In addition to the rounded corners and camera, the watch has a metal casing and control button on the side of the watch, a heart-rate monitor, detachable straps, and a premium look. According to the leak, you could download the photos and videos captured with the watch to your phone.
This smartwatch image was found and shared by an App developer Steve Moser. He found it from Facebook’s app used to control its first Ray-Ban Stories AR sunglasses. With this leak, the tech community is predicting that these AR sunglasses might be able to communicate and control Meta’s smartwatch. Steve Moser also mentioned that watch could be called “Milan” according to the code inside the app.
Any of these leaks are still not confirmed yet by Meta. However, Facebook’s parent company was reportedly working on three generations of products that will be released in the future, starting in early 2022. Meta’s smartwatch may be one of those devices. In June, The Verge also published an article about Facebook’s first smartwatch. According to the Verge, the watch that plans to debut next summer has a display with two cameras. The picture and videos taken from the watch can be shared on Facebook and Instagram. Roughly it is $400, but the price point could be changed.
Even if many smartwatches are out there, such as Google’s Fitbit, Samsung Galaxy Watch, and Garmin Vivoactive, there is still space for a smartwatch with a camera capable of videoconferencing. Meta’s smartwatch probably stands out in the market if it has the videoconferencing feature.
If Meta launches the watch in 2022, it will have to compete with the next-generation Apple devices because Apple is planning to launch three new Apple Watches for 2022, including Watch Series 8 with a body temperature sensor, Apple Watch SE as a budget watch, and a rugged model for athletes according to Bloomberg. Not only the hardware, but Meta even has to compete with Apple’s Watch OS and iOS (especially their privacy features), which has been excellent and developed for years. However, this kind of competition among tech giants is good for the progress of the tech world, and it helps to emerge great products for competitive prices in the future.
Image credits: Facebook
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