meta: Meta may have put the development of its Apple Watch rival on hold – Times of India

Last year, we learned that Meta has been working on a smartwatch, and it had invested billions of dollars in its development. Further, it was being reported that the watch would be coming out in the summer of 2022 for around $400. Cut to 2022, and Meta has reportedly put the project on hold.
Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the development, reports that Meta has halted the development of its first smartwatch and is now working on other devices for the wrist. The smartwatch has been in development for two years now, and it was said to have features similar to other smartwatches and dual cameras.
According to the pictures of a prototype as seen by Bloomberg, the watch had two cameras – one beneath the display and one on the back of the watch facing the wearer’s wrist. The report says that the camera on the rear was to click instant pictures, but the camera was causing issues with the translation of nerve signals into digital commands, a feature known as electromyography, which is at the top of Meta’s priority.
Bloomberg reports that the watch had a removable watch face, a gold-coloured casing, and two buttons were on the side of the case. Further, the watch had a 5MP on the front and a 12MP on the back of the watch to click pictures. Furthermore, it had WiFi, GPS and support for cellular connectivity with eSIM support. And there were apps for Spotify, WhatsApp, Instagram stories, a photo gallery, calendar, settings, heart rate monitoring and a breathe app. The watch would have reportedly lasted for 18 hours.
Meta wants to use electromyography to transform a person’s hands into a controller for devices. In a blog post published last year, the company said, “This is about decoding those signals at the wrist — the actions you’ve already decided to perform — and translating them into digital commands for your device.” A smartwatch is a big part of Meta’s vision for the metaverse.
The dual-camera smartwatch from Meta, codenamed ‘Milan’, was expected to release next year, i.e., 2023. The smartwatch might have been priced at $349, but according to the employees working on the project, the smartwatch won’t be reaching the production stage. The report suggests that the project was shelved to cut down the costs. However, the company is working on several wrist devices, and some of the features of the smartwatch might appear in Meta’s future devices.