Meta is reportedly reviewing its broader augmented reality and mixed-reality strategy.
Meta paused the global rollout of Ray-Ban Display smart glasses due to strong demand and low supply
Meta is reportedly planning to launch its first smartwatch later this year, signalling a renewed push into the wearables space. The wearable is expected to focus on health tracking capabilities and could include a built-in Meta AI assistant. The smartwatch may form part of Meta's broader strategy to expand its consumer hardware lineup beyond smart glasses and mixed-reality headsets. If launched, it would mark Meta's entry into a competitive smartwatch market while also reflecting the growing trend of AI-powered features becoming central to new fitness and lifestyle devices.
According to a report by The Information (via The Verge), Meta's purported smartwatch project, code-named Malibu 2, is expected to arrive alongside an updated version of Meta's Ray-Ban Display smart glasses. The publication states the watch could play a role in Meta's broader wearable ecosystem, potentially replacing the neural wristband currently used for gesture controls with the glasses.
The move would revive Meta's earlier smartwatch plans. The company had worked on a wrist wearable in the past, with some prototypes said to include multiple cameras, but it dropped the project in 2022 due to technical challenges and wider cost-cutting in its Reality Labs unit. Meta has yet to officially confirm these plans.
Meta said strong demand and limited supply led it to pause the global rollout of its Ray-Ban Display smart glasses. The report adds that shipments of the glasses climbed to nearly six million units last year, based on industry estimates.
The publication also claims that Meta is reviewing its broader augmented reality and mixed-reality strategy. Several AR and MR devices remain in development, but the mixed-reality glasses project known internally as Phoenix has reportedly been pushed back to 2027 as Meta seeks to space out product launches.
A smartwatch launch would place Meta in a crowded wearables market led by Apple, Samsung, Google, Garmin, and Fitbit. It would also reflect the wider shift toward AI-enabled consumer devices, especially in the health and fitness space.
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