Meta’s Apple Watch competitor now on pause as company focuses on AR/VR

Last year, 9to5Mac reported that Meta was working on a new smartwatch with built-in camera to compete with the Apple Watch. Now, the Facebook-parent company has halted development of this wearable as it focuses on the metaverse.

According to Bloomberg, the devices that had Wi-Fi, built-in Spotify, and GPS support have been halted, but Meta is still working on other wearables for the wrist, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

The device, which has been in development for at least two years, was designed to include several features common in other smartwatches, including activity tracking, music playback and messaging. A prototype of the now halted device includes dual-cameras, a key differentiator from market leaders like the Apple Watch. One camera was located below the display and another sat on the backside against the wearer’s wrist, according to images and video of a prototype seen by Bloomberg.

With the second camera, users would remove the watch from its strap to quickly take pictures, but “the presence of the camera caused issues with another feature for translating nerve signals from the wrist into digital commands.”

Different from the Apple Watch that focuses on fitness and well-being, Meta’s smartwatch would have the potential to be part of its metaverse future. “Meta has touted the benefits of electromyography as a way of using a person’s hands as a ‘controller’ for other devices, including those geared toward the metaverse,” Bloomberg reports.

Apart from that, the Apple Watch competitor would not have a proper app store. Instead, it would need a Facebook account to handle all possible apps. Some of the examples were Spotify, WhatsApp, Instagram, daily activity tracking, workouts, the photo gallery, calendar, and more.

The Apple Watch competitor was originally targeted for a release in 2023, with a price point around $349.

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