Meta’s Camera Smartwatch Project Reportedly Back From The Dead

There were multiple reports in 2021 about a Meta smartwatch, but the company reportedly put the project on hold the following year. A new report now indicates that Meta’s smartwatch dreams aren’t over yet, and the company has revived the project and is now close to launching a product soon. According to DigiTimes, Meta has apparently found a new manufacturing partner to make a smartwatch.

As per the source, Meta is going full steam ahead on its first smartwatch product. The company has appointed China’s Huaqin as the primary manufacturing partner for the device. The company is reviving the project and may include a camera in it, as many earlier reports have suggested. The report says the smartwatch will complement the brand’s upcoming AI glasses.

Meta is hosting the Meta Connect conference on September 17-18 in the US. The company could introduce the wearable at the same event. The DigiTimes report is uncertain whether the device will make an appearance at Meta’s September event. The report’s intro suggests that the company is timing the announcement for the Meta Connect event. However, later in the piece, it mentions, “It’s unclear if the smartwatch will debut at the upcoming Meta Connect event.”

It’s worth mentioning that Meta partner Huaqin is one of the biggest Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) in the world. The Chinese company lists smartwatches and smart bands as part of its manufacturing portfolio on its website. It has already worked with Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi, among other top tech companies in this field, in the past.

The social media giant’s smartwatch with the codename Milan reached the prototype stage and looked a lot like the Fitbit Versa range, as per the leaks. The wearable had a camera on both the front and back of the main body. Notably, the users could remove the case from the band, allowing the use of the rear camera. So, it’s likely that Meta’s first smartwatch could put a camera on your wrist.

The addition of a camera would provide the wearable AI capabilities, apart from differentiating it from existing products in the category from Apple, Samsung, and Garmin. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of information about the Meta device at the moment. We can expect the rumor mill to share more details closer to the alleged launch in September, so stay tuned.