Meta is reportedly planning to launch a smartwatch as early as this year. According to a report by The Information, the smartwatch is code-named ‘Malibu 2’ and may be equipped with health features similar to Apple Watch.
The smartwatch may debut along with an updated version of its Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses. As per the report, the company has also delayed its plans to bring its mixed reality glasses codenamed Phoenix by 2027. Notably, this is not the first time that Meta is working on a smartwatch. The Facebook-parent has previously scrapped plans for an earlier smartwatch in 2022 due to technical challenges and cost-cutting measures.
Meta’s Malibu 2 smartwatch : What we know so far
Readers must note that the details about the Malibu 2 smartwatch are scarce. The smartwatch follows Meta’s launch of its Ray-Ban Display AR glasses in 2025, which the company said proved popular enough that they had to pause the glasses’ international launch due to “unprecedented demand and limited inventory.”Meta already offers a range of VR headsets and related accessories, along with its Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta smart glasses.
The report of Meta’s smartwatch comes as the company cuts costs on its virtual reality efforts, including thousands of job cuts.
Meta cuts 1,000 jobs in Reality Labs workforce
Last month, Meta restructured its Reality Labs division by announcing job cuts that impacted more than 1,000 employees. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Andrew Bosworth then sent an internal memo calling the cuts as a necessary step to create a “more sustainable” business model for the division.
It also signals a strategic backstep from the company’s focus on the “metaverse” in favour of opportunities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) wearables and mobile integration.“With the larger potential user base and the fastest growth rate today, we are shifting teams and resources almost exclusively to mobile to continue to accelerate adoption there,” Bosworth wrote, according to Bloomberg report.Reality Labs has been the primary focus for Meta’s virtual and augmented reality ambitions but the unit has bled billions since its inception.
