Facebook would be preparing to enter the wearables sector with a smartwatch designed for sports, and that would also be integrated with the software ecosystem of the social network.
According to The Information, Mark Zuckerberg would have put his team of engineers to develop a smartwatch — a project that will also bear fruit next year.
It would be a smartwatch that, like the rest, would have the classic capabilities for measuring health and physical activity. But what makes Facebook made smartwatch unique is unlike Apple Watch, Facebook’s proposal would be focused on messaging by integrating it into the Facebook software ecosystem — we assume that at least of the three main applications, Facebook (with Messenger), WhatsApp, and Instagram.
According to The Information, the watch will have an LTE data connection so that it can work independently of the phone. It will be able to receive and send messages, and it will be based on Android, although it is not specified if it will be WearOS or if, on the contrary, it will mount a modified software version.
Ironically, the reports on it are sparse in detail. For example, it is not specified exactly what the integration with Facebook services will consist of. Most likely, it means that the watch will work with other Facebook devices, interacting with them and allowing the user to control them via WiFi using commands.
The new product would arrive next year, in 2022, we do not know estimated dates or prices. But it seems like a somewhat risky bet for a company that has not been able to hit the nail, at least until now, when we talk about hardware. Not to mention how unsettling it would be for many to wear a device on the wrist linked to the servers of a company with a history of privacy-related scandals as great as Facebook’s.