TECH NEWS – At an upcoming event, Mark Zuckerberg’s company may finally reveal the smartwatch it first announced four years ago.
The Apple Watch made its debut more than a decade ago and has seen substantial advancements since. Apple once considered equipping the wearable with a camera, even filing patents to protect the concept, but ultimately shelved the plan. Now, Meta is working on its own smartwatch with an integrated camera. This isn’t the first time the company’s camera-equipped watch has made headlines: Meta first mentioned it in 2021, then put development on hold a year later. According to a new supply chain report, however, the project has been revived and is close to launch.
Years back, Apple also floated the idea of a camera-equipped Apple Watch and filed a slew of patents to stay ahead of rivals. The company, though, likely abandoned the idea over concerns that an Apple Watch camera might cannibalize iPhone sales. The sensor was designed for photos and video, not health monitoring. It’s worth noting that many of Apple’s patents never become products, as the company patents a vast number of ideas that don’t make it to market.
While Apple has stepped away from the camera-watch idea, DigiTimes reports that Meta is now moving full steam ahead with development. Mark Zuckerberg is rumored to introduce the new device at the Meta Connect conference in the US on September 17–18. The smartwatch is expected to complement Meta’s upcoming AI-powered glasses, with China’s Huaqin serving as the main manufacturer. This wearable will be quite different from the Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, or Pixel Watch: the built-in camera will serve as a unique selling point and could enable AI features similar to iPhone’s Visual Intelligence or Google Lens for Android.
Still, Meta faces challenges in marketing and positioning its new watch. Its real capabilities will only be unlocked when paired with a smartphone, and the limitations of its ecosystem could make it difficult to convert loyal Apple Watch users among iPhone owners.
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