Meta Poised To Launch Smartwatch This Year

Meta is preparing to enter the smartwatch arena this year, according to a report from The Information, signaling a new push to anchor its AI and spatial computing ambitions to a device people wear all day. The rumored watch, said to carry the internal codename “Malibu 2,” would emphasize health tracking and ship with Meta’s AI assistant baked into the experience.

What We Know So Far About Meta’s Rumored Smartwatch

Specifics remain sparse, but the “Malibu 2” branding suggests a second attempt after Meta’s earlier smartwatch project was shelved. That prototype reportedly included an onboard camera, a bold but controversial choice for a wrist device. It’s unclear whether the new model reprises that hardware, though the inclusion of an on-device AI assistant points to voice-first interactions and fast responses without constant phone dependence.

Health features are expected to be table stakes: optical heart-rate monitoring, activity tracking, sleep insights, and possibly irregular rhythm notifications or ECG in markets where regulators allow them. The Information’s reporting did not specify an operating system, but industry watchers will be looking for whether Meta chooses a custom Android-based stack, partners on Wear OS, or builds something closer to the lightweight RTOS approaches used in some fitness-first watches.

Why a Meta Smartwatch Makes Strategic Sense Now

Meta has been rebalancing its Reality Labs portfolio, trimming costs and narrowing bets as it looks for nearer-term consumer traction. Multiple outlets reported sizable staff reductions within Reality Labs over the past year, and Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth has repeatedly highlighted wearables as a pragmatic bridge to augmented reality. A watch gives Meta a dependable, daily-use device that can gather context, support notifications, and act as a control surface for other Meta hardware.

That strategy dovetails with Meta’s existing lineup. The company co-developed Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, where hands-free capture and AI assistance are core. A smartwatch could serve as a discreet remote for those glasses—managing media, issuing prompts to the assistant, or providing haptic cues—without forcing users to reach for a phone when they’re on the move.

The Competitive Smartwatch Landscape and What’s at Stake

The smartwatch market is mature but far from closed. Counterpoint Research has consistently placed Apple at the top of global smartwatch shipments with roughly a third of the market and the lion’s share of revenue, while Samsung and Huawei round out the next tiers. IDC has noted that broader wearables still grow as health features deepen and AI-driven coaching becomes more compelling.

For Meta, differentiation will be essential. Apple Watch dominates iPhone users through tight integration; Samsung’s Galaxy Watch leverages Android and Galaxy ecosystem hooks; Google’s Pixel Watch leans on Fitbit’s health platform. Meta’s advantage, if it can realize it, lies in multimodal AI and its social graph—imagine a watch that can summarize group chats, auto-generate quick replies with context, or coordinate with smart glasses to translate, identify objects, or navigate using subtle wrist haptics.

A Natural Hub for AR Integration and Gesture Control

Meta has previewed electromyography (EMG) wristband research since acquiring CTRL-Labs, showing prototypes that interpret tiny neural signals to enable precise, low-friction input. While EMG-grade sensing is different from conventional smartwatch health sensors, a Meta-branded watch could still become a nucleus for gesture control—think pinch-to-click or air scrolling—especially when paired with Ray-Ban Meta glasses or future AR devices.

In virtual and mixed reality, the watch could simplify quick actions: muting microphones, accepting calls, controlling media, or switching camera modes on glasses. If Meta’s assistant operates on-device for common commands, latency and privacy could improve, a key factor for socially acceptable wearables.

Health Data and Privacy Questions Meta Must Address

Any health-forward smartwatch raises compliance and privacy requirements. Features like ECG and irregular heart rhythm notifications typically require clearances in major markets. Beyond approvals, the bigger question is data stewardship. Regulators in the U.S. and EU continue to scrutinize how companies handle biometric data, retention policies, and cross-device profiling. Meta will need to offer transparent controls, minimal default sharing, and clear separation between wellness data and ad systems to win trust.

Hardware Unknowns to Watch as Meta Readies Its Device

Battery life, chip choice, and connectivity will define real-world appeal. Competitors increasingly combine efficient chipsets with low-power displays to stretch endurance beyond a day. LTE options, fast charging, and robust water resistance are now expected. On the AI front, whether Meta leans on an NPU-class wearable SoC or offloads heavier tasks to the phone and cloud will influence performance and privacy trade-offs.

Supply chain signals—component orders, regulatory filings, or partnerships with silicon vendors like Qualcomm—will be the tell. If Meta times a launch alongside updates to its glasses or Quest ecosystem, expect heavy emphasis on cross-device experiences rather than a fitness-only pitch.

Bottom Line on Meta’s Smartwatch Ambitions This Year

A Meta smartwatch would not just chase steps and heart rates; it would be a strategic anchor for AI and ambient computing across the company’s hardware. If “Malibu 2” ships this year, the watch’s success will hinge on two things: making Meta’s assistant meaningfully useful on the wrist and proving the device adds unique value when paired with glasses and headsets. In a crowded field, that kind of ecosystem synergy is the difference between a niche experiment and a breakout wearable.