‘First Facebook smartwatch will come with 2 cameras next summer’

Facebook is making its own smartwatch, according to rumors. The watch would have a detachable screen with two cameras so that you can take pictures without your phone. The watch should appear in the summer next year.

facebook watch

Facebook has very concrete plans to release its very first smartwatch next year, two anonymous sources involved in the project reported to The Verge. The company opts for a very unique approach, namely a watch with a detachable screen.

A camera has already been incorporated into the edge on the screen, a simple example for video calling. If you remove the screen, there is another camera lens on the back that makes Full HD videos and has autofocus. You can take photos without your phone in your pocket, and then share them instantly via Facebook’s social media apps.

Determine the rules of the game yourself

It is striking that Facebook’s watch wants to take over a number of important tasks from a smartphone, namely taking photos and putting them online. But that’s no coincidence. Currently, Facebook is very dependent on Android and iOS for its revenue. Apple has already clashed with Facebook over how CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s company collects data from users for its personalized advertising. The iPhone maker wants to give users the opportunity to reject that kind of advertising on iOS devices, and Google also has such plans.

If both companies turn off the money tap, it will have major consequences for Facebook. The smartwatches could therefore serve as Facebook’s own platform from which people can interact directly with their social media apps, and thus Facebook itself can determine the rules of the game around advertisements.

Budget of 1 billion

Facebook’s smart watch ambitions are already well-established, as the company plans to release its first watch in 2022, and plans to launch new models in the years to come. In addition, the company wants to work with providers to connect the watch to mobile internet via eSIM. Thus, it can work completely independently of a smartphone.

Facebook has a budget of $1 billion ready to make its first watch a success. For the software, the company will use a modified version of Android, and that should also make it easy to attract third parties who make apps for the smartwatch.

No hardware manufacturer

Facebook is not really known as a hardware company. It does have Oculus, the well-known maker of VR headsets, under its wing, but it is not known how much of that crap Oculus has sold in recent years. Oculus was also already releasing its own products before it became part of Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg’s company would like to sell just over a million units with its first watch. Those are not monster numbers when you know that Apple sold about 34 million smart watches in 2020. The smartwatch should cost 328 euros converted.

Facebook and HTC tried to make their own phones 10 years ago, but that project has fizzled out. Do you think the company will be successful with this smart watch idea? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.