‘Development of watches and AR glasses is difficult at Meta’
Meta is not going to release a smartwatch that works with two cameras. Technical problems and savings stand in the way of development. In addition, the development of augmented reality glasses will also stop. Other smart watches and glasses will take their place.
Meta smartwatch
Rumors have been circulating for a long time about an upcoming watch from Meta, the parent company of Facebook. A smartwatch from the brand would come on the market in the summer of 2022 and we were already shown renders. Bloomberg sources are now noticing that Meta is ceasing development.
One of the reasons is the technology that Meta just can’t get to work. His smartwatch will have a camera at the bottom of the screen and a second one at the bottom against the user’s wrist. You could use that second camera to take pictures if you detached the watch from its strap. The watch was specially designed for that, but the second camera got in the way of other sensors on the wrist.
A second important reason for scrapping this watch is budget savings at Meta. Meta has already invested a lot in products and technology for the metaverse, but that has not yielded any profit for the company yet. We also covered it on an episode of our Tech in Five podcast last month.
‘Multiple generations’
Not only does Meta stop developing his watch, but also a prototype of augmented reality glasses is no longer being worked on. Those glasses were three years in development. Still, Meta is still working on other smart watches and glasses. In April, it was announced that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has great expectations of Meta’s AR glasses. The company is said to be working on several generations of the product.
Finally, Meta will also steer the strategy for its Portal smart displays in a different direction. At the moment these are mainly aimed at consumers, but Meta is now opting for a more B2B approach. For example, the smart screens with cameras can play a role in conference rooms because they can involve people who do not physically participate. What do you think of Meta’s hardware plans? Let us know in the comments.
