Meta is reportedly planning to launch a smartwatch this year

Meta is planning to launch a smartwatch with health tracking and AI features later this year, along with an updated version of its Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, The Information reports. The smartwatch would arrive ahead of a pair of mixed reality glasses, code-named Phoenix, that Meta has reportedly delayed until 2027 amidst efforts to streamline the company’s AR and MR roadmap.

Meta previously scrapped plans for an earlier smartwatch in 2022 due to technical challenges and cost-cutting measures. If the new watch, code-named Malibu 2, comes to fruition, it would intensify competition with Apple, which is rumored to be working on a pair of AI smart glasses that could launch next year, potentially rivaling Meta’s line of glasses. Meta would also face significant competition for users’ wrist space from Google, Garmin, Samsung, Fitbit, and others.

The Malibu 2 smartwatch follows Meta’s launch of its Ray-Ban Display AR glasses last year, which the company said proved popular enough that they had to pause the glasses’ international launch due to “unprecedented demand and limited inventory.” The Ray-Ban Display glasses use a neural wristband for gesture controls, which could potentially be replaced by a smartwatch.