First image of Meta's rumored smartwatch spotted in the wild
What's the story
Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook) is rumored to be developing a smartwatch to potentially rival the likes of the Apple Watch. An image of this rumored watch, dubbed "Milan," was found buried deep in the Facebook View app on iOS. The image showed off a notched display and what looked like a steel casing and detachable watch straps. Here are more details.
Spotted
Image of watch spotted in Meta's app for smart glasses
iOS developer Steve Moser found an image of Meta's rumored smartwatch buried in its Facebook View app. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the app is used to control Meta's new smart glasses launched recently in collaboration with Ray-Ban. The watch's design resembles the Apple Watch but has some key differences. A Meta spokeswoman declined the publication's request for comment about the Milan smartwatch.
Twitter Post
Moser's tweet about the Milan smartwatch image he discovered
ICYMI I shared a photo of Facebook/Meta’s ‘Milan’ smartwatch with a bellybutton camera notch yesterday. And here is a glyph of it found in the same app. It could be used as a key EMD VR input device in the future. https://t.co/hrOr4RQ9HA pic.twitter.com/BVzjXWPU8Q
— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) October 29, 2021
Semblance of design
Design resembles Apple Watch, albeit with prominent camera notch
Visually, the Milan watch's design shares a squarish design, rounded corners, a metal case, a button on one side, and possibly replaceable straps with the Apple Watch. However, Meta's smartwatch features a prominent camera notch on the front, hinting at the inclusion of industry-leading capabilities. Moser speculated it could be used as an EMD and virtual reality (VR) input device in the future.
In the pipeline
Meta reportedly developing three generations concurrently
Rumors of the Meta smartwatch have been afloat for a while now, but this is the first time we have seen an indication of its development from Meta, although the company has not confirmed it. Rumor has it that the metaverse company is concurrently developing three generations of the watch that it will release at different times.
Pricing and launch
The premium smartwatch could break cover sometime next year
Instead of first gauging sentiments with a budget-centric device like Xiaomi or Google Fitbit, Meta has jumped right into the deep end. We believe it is safe to assume that the Milan smartwatch will be a premium segment wearable. According to Bloomberg, an unnamed source familiar with the matter said that the watch will debut in 2022 but the final timing remains unclear.