The Information, an information technology (IT) outlet, reported on the 18th, citing sources, that Meta, Facebook's parent company, plans to release its first smartwatch this year.
According to the report, Meta is pushing a smartwatch development project called "Malibu 2" and plans to release at year's end a smartwatch equipped with its Meta AI assistant and health management features.
Meta also planned to release a smartwatch five years ago, but the project was canceled during a process to cut the budget of Reality Labs, its virtual reality (Virtual Reality (VR)) and augmented reality (Augmented Reality (AR)) device development organization at the time.
However, as the smart glasses it co-developed with Ray-Ban have recently gained popularity, it is seen as having decided to develop a smartwatch as well. According to market research firm Smart Analytics Global, shipments of Meta's smart glasses reached about 6 million units last year.
Reuters said, "News of Meta's smartwatch launch suggests the possibility of a revival of AI-based wearable devices amid the AI boom."
Meta will also roll out new smart glasses products this year. It plans to unveil this year "Hypernova2," a successor to "Hypernova" with an ultra-small display on one lens, and to release next year AR glasses called "Artemis."
The smart glasses market is effectively dominated by Meta for now, but the market expects competition to intensify as Google and Apple enter the space.