Facebook is developing a smartwatch that will focus on messaging and health features, according to a new report from The Information. Wearers will be able to send messages with Facebook services like Messenger and WhatsApp, and it will work with a cellular connection without a tethered smartphone.
Health features like options to track workouts with friends or communicate with trainers will be included, and the watch will be able to connect to services provided by health and fitness companies like Peloton. Facebook’s upcoming watch is said to run a version of Google’s Android software.
Facebook plans to sell the smartwatch at close to its production cost, which is also what it does with the Oculus headset. There’s no word on what pricing will be, but competing products range in price from $150 to $400+.
Facebook is also working on branded Ray-Ban smart glasses to be released later this year and a separate augmented reality research initiative known as Project Aria.
The social networking giant’s hardware ambitions are no secret. Bloomberg reported that the company has more than 6,000 employees working on various augmented and virtual reality projects under existing hardware divisions like Occulus, Portal and Facebook Reality Labs division.
A Facebook smartwatch would need to compete with the Apple Watch, which is one of the best selling wearables on the market. Just this morning, a report suggested that more than 100 million people globally own an Apple Watch.
Facebook is aiming to start selling its smartwatch next year, with a second-generation planned for as soon as 2023.
