Meta Looks to Take on Apple With First Smartwatch

Meta has reportedly resurrected its smartwatch project, aiming to release the device this year.

That’s according to a report Wednesday (Feb. 19) from The Information, which notes that the company’s efforts are happening as its Big Tech peers like Apple, Google and OpenAI are also planning new consumer device launches.

The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, says Meta has relaunched its shelved smartwatch project, planning to unveil it later in 2026 with health-tracking features and the company’s artificial intelligence system built in.

Meta had mothballed the smartwatch project in 2022 as it scaled back spending on its Reality Labs division. But sources told The Information the company decided to resume its work following a strategy meeting in 2025 at CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s home in Hawaii.

According to The Information, Meta is planning to debut its smartwatch while also streamlining its augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) projects.

The company has a handful or AR and MR glasses in development, and one source said executives are concerned that introducing too many devices too quickly will cause confusion among consumers. This has led the company to rethink its timelines, the report added.

Reality Labs employees learned in December that Meta had delayed Phoenix, its MR glasses, until 2027. As for 2026, Meta plans to introduce a new version of the Meta Ray-Ban Display, one of the sources said. The first version of these glasses, which have a miniature display embedded into one lens, went on sale last year for $799.

In January, the company said it was pushing back international expansion of the smart glasses in the U.K., France, Italy and Canada because of “unprecedented demand and limited inventory.”

Meanwhile, Meta is continuing to develop consumer-facing AR glasses code-named Artemis, expected to be released next year, according to one of the sources.

This week also saw a report from Bloomberg News that Apple is accelerating its work on three artificial intelligence (AI)-powered wearable devices: smart glasses, a pendant and AirPods. These devices will be built around the company’s Siri digital assistant and linked to the iPhone. The pendant and the AirPods with expanded AI capabilities could debut as early as this year, while the smart glasses could come next year, the report said.