Meta smartwatch leaked and cancelled

Details of a Meta smartwatch have leaked onto the internet – just as the project is reportedly cancelled.

Bloomberg has today published a report on a so-called Apple Watch rival, which had been in development at Facebook parent company Meta for the past two years before its cancellation earlier this week.

Despite being canned, details and shots of a prototype device have emerged. It’s a classic rounded square design, albeit bulkier than the Apple Watch.

The wearable, code-named Milan, is said to be capable of all the usual smartwatch activities, including activity tracking, music playback and messaging. Its most interesting feature, however was the presence of two cameras.

One of these cameras sat below the display, but the other could be foundon the underside of the device, facing the wrist. The idea was that you could remove the watch from its strap and quickly take a picture, which seems rather odd to say the least.

Not only is this a weird inclusion, but the bottom-mounted camera apparently interfered with the wearable’s other major innovation. Meta is apparently looking to incorporate the ability to control a watch using nerve signals from your wrist, in a process known as electromyography.

This electromyography feature remains a going concern at Meta, where it will apparently have major benefits for AR applications within the metaverse.

The Meta Milan smartwatch was due to go on sale in the spring of 2023 at a price of around $349 (about £280).

Meta is now said to be working on other wrist-mounted devices, so don’t bet against another camera-packing smartwatch appearing from the controversial company over the coming years.