- By Henry Faulkner Brittany
- June 27, 2022
Facebook has announced the evolution of a smartwatch. Facebook’s first-ever smartwatch with AR control will act as a controller for its near future augmented reality projects.
Reports claimed that the Facebook smartwatch with AR control features multiple cameras and was due for release in may-2022.
But the development of the Facebook smartwatch with AR control is only in its early stages and may never be released to the public, said Facebook seniors executive.
“We’re investing in technologies across the board… research doesn’t always lead to product development,” he said.
The existence of AR watch was revealed by the technology news website Verge, which cited anonymous sources intimate with web development.
The site reported that the Facebook smartwatch with AR features a detachable display with two cameras that would have integration with Facebook and Instagram networks.
“It’s part of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to build more consumer devices that circumvent Apple and Google, the two dominant mobile-phone platform creators that largely control Facebook’s ability to reach people,” the Verge said.
In addition to this, the device was set to be controller, linking to planned AR glasses, which Facebook didn’t hesitate to reveal the AR project developing.
And Facebook Reality Labs vice-president Andrew Bosworth dismissed the idea of mainstream smartwatch and lent that version of the product credence.
“We’ve said we want AR glasses to be truly useful… to make that interaction feel more natural and intuitive,” he tweeted.
“This includes research like EMG [electromyography], haptics, adaptive interfaces that could come together in a wrist-based form factor.”
Facebook has announced a controller idea simultaneously in March, giving a brief about their new gadget. Facebook said that their researchers had designed a wrist band that has the ability to detect hand movement based on nerve impulses.
This tech giant is a powerful source in VR, through its range of Oculus headsets, which have introduced low cost VR without the necessity of external powerful computers.
But it also encounters criticism came from the VR community for requiring a Facebook account to use its newer product.
Augmented reality differs from virtual reality because it is the amalgam of projected images and real-world images.
Google’s ill-fated Glass spectacles and Microsoft’s Hololens platform are the best-known examples.
In addition to this, Apple which is also the titan in the tech industry thinks to be research forthcoming mainstream products in AR.
But Facebook has shown its interest in the commercial smartwatch space, dominated by Apple.