Google might have just killed-off Fitbit smartwatches (in favor of its favorite child the Pixel Watch 3) but Meta is reportedly reviving its unannounced dead smartwatch – at least according to a new leak.
The notable industry smartphone leaker Evan Blass has shared details of future Meta projects on a private X (formerly Twitter) account, one of which he’s been told “may be a watch”.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a Meta smartwatch. Back in 2022 it was reported that Meta was winding down its secret smartwatch development project and other non-core hardware development – like its Portal smart displays (via Reuters) – to focus on other aspects of its business.
The watch would have reportedly featured a lot of the same features you’d expect from an Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch with some XR-focused add-ons like electromyography – a system that can translate nerve signals from your wrists into digital commands (it showed off a demo in a blog post).
This system would not only help improve the accuracy and reliability of hand tracking on VR headsets or AR glasses, but researchers have shown similar tech being used by amputees to manipulate robot hands. If Meta implemented a similar thing it might help make VR and MR significantly more accessible than it is right now.
Later in 2023 there were mutterings that the Meta smartwatch was making a comeback, and now this new rumor from Evan Blass suggests that could well be the case.
This leak is low on details and substance, so take it with a generous helping of salt. We only have project code names – Hawaii, Moku, Ford, Belmont, Coconut, Vega 1 and Vega 2 (the latter are believed to be “two generations of budget Quest headsets”) – and the second-hand assurance that a smartwatch could be coming, though earlier leaks suggest it isn’t a complete pipe dream.
Just don’t expect to see the Meta watch at Meta Connect this year (September 25 – 26), or at least not something you’ll be able to buy. An early prototype might get some screen time, but I’d be shocked if a fully-fledged smart watch came out of the woodwork.
And if I got my way, it wouldn’t be a ‘watch’ at all.
Smart rings are the new hot thing in wearables – fuelled by recent launches such as the Samsung Galaxy Ring – in part because they offer a lot of the most essential smartwatch health and fitness features in a significantly more discrete and (sometimes) more affordable package.
If the Meta smartwatch incorporated XR-enhancing features on top of everything else a watch needs – a display, high-end features etc – it could be quite a pricey proposition. Taking out the screen to instead create a Meta smart bracelet would make it a lot slimmer, and would hopefully keep the cost down.
What’s more, if it is primarily an AR glasses add-on, you don’t need a screen. The same info could be displayed as a HUD on your specs, or as a virtual display projected on your wrist where the smart bracelet is.
Beyond keeping cost down, the lack of a display would mean the Meta band would hold its battery charge for longer. This would improve its health-tracking capabilities as you could wear it all night without worrying that it’d run out of battery, plus it’d give you one fewer item to remember to recharge daily.
A full-on smart ring could be an approach instead of a Meta bracelet, however it would lose out on the advantages afforded by electromyography – primarily in terms of accessibility – and I’m keen to see Meta retain this feature. XR can only be the future if it can be the future for everyone, and electromyography could be a path towards that goal.
However, I’m not expecting this to happen anytime soon. While I think a bracelet makes sense in the long run depending on Meta’s release schedule, AR glasses aren’t going to be ubiquitous enough to create a device that would realistically only be usable with a pair of those specs.
Still, I think a bracelet could be an ideal solution, especially given so many other big players like Google, Samsung and Apple (among others) have such a huge lead. A Meta bracelet could be different enough to help slice up that gap.
We’ll have to wait and see what Meta announces at Meta Connect 2024 – or even Connect 2025, 2026 or beyond. And if the above leak is correct we don’t just have a smartwatch to look forward to in the coming years, as even with a watch, two budget Meta Quest 3S headsets, a follow-up Pro and a follow-up regular Quest (the latter seem all but certain to be in development) we still have two projects unaccounted for. Maybe they’re AR smart glasses, maybe they’re something else entirely.
As soon as we know for sure you’ll be the first we tell.
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hamish.hector@futurenet.com (Hamish Hector)
