According to the latest report, people familiar with the matter said today that Facebook parent company Meta Platform has stopped developing a smartwatch with a dual camera and turned to other wrist-worn devices.
Meta’s in-house development of the smartwatch, code-named “Milan,” has been going on for at least two years. According to previous reports, the watch includes some of the usual features of other smartwatches, such as activity tracking, music playback, and messaging. But unlike smartwatches like the Apple Watch, Meta’s prototype smartwatch features two cameras, one under the display and the other on the back of the watch.
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The second camera is designed to allow users to remove the watch face from the strap for quick snaps. But the camera’s presence caused problems with another feature that “converts nerve signals from the wrist into digital commands,” the people said. The latter feature is called “EMG” and is one of the first features Meta designed for this watch.
People working on the dual-camera smartwatch were told this week to stop development, people familiar with the matter said. According to previous plans, the watch will be released in the spring of 2023, priced at about $ 349. While the development of the smartwatch is discontinued, Meta is still working on a variety of other wrist-worn devices, the person said.
A Meta spokesman declined to comment.
Analysts said the cost-cutting plan may have also been one of the reasons why Meta decided to stop developing the watch. Meta executives had said on an earnings call in April that the company would reduce its annual spending by $3 billion this year, given the slowdown in business.
This has impacted Meta’s hiring. Some management positions at Meta have been suspended or slowed down in recent months. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors at the time that cost cutting across the board meant putting some projects and efforts ahead of others.
Of course, some of the features developed for this dual-camera watch may appear in other Meta products in the future. Based on the prototype device, the smartphone features detachable straps, dual cameras, eSIM, WiFi, and GPS; apps include Spotify, WhatsApp, Instagram, and more; daily activity tracking, workouts, photo albums, heart rate monitoring, and calendars; battery 18 hours of battery life.
