Meta is taking another swing at the smartwatch market. The company plans to launch a health-tracking smartwatch with AI features later this year, according to The Information. Code-named Malibu 2, the device represents Meta's second attempt at wearable hardware after the company killed its original smartwatch project in 2022. The move puts Meta on a collision course with Apple in the increasingly crowded wearables space, while also reshuffling the company's broader augmented and mixed reality roadmap.
Meta is betting on wearables again. After abandoning its first smartwatch effort four years ago, the social media giant is reviving its hardware ambitions with a new device targeted for late 2026, The Information reports. The smartwatch, internally known as Malibu 2, will pack health tracking capabilities and AI features - Meta's latest attempt to establish a foothold beyond virtual reality headsets.
The timing isn't accidental. Meta is simultaneously planning an updated version of its Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, which have gained traction since their launch. By coupling a smartwatch with its glasses ecosystem, Meta appears to be building out a connected wearables platform that could compete with Apple's tightly integrated hardware lineup.
But this isn't Meta's first rodeo with smartwatches. The company scrapped an earlier smartwatch project in 2022 that featured dual cameras and was positioned as both a fitness tracker and a potential metaverse controller. Technical challenges and Mark Zuckerberg's company-wide cost-cutting measures killed that device before it reached consumers. The decision came during Meta's "year of efficiency" when the company laid off thousands of employees and killed multiple hardware projects.
