Meta Revives Abandoned 'Malibu 2' Smartwatch Project, Targets 2026 Launch: Report

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is reviving its antecedently shelved “Malibu 2” project, with plans to motorboat its debut smartwatch successful 2026. The ticker is anticipated to connection wellness tracking features and an integrated Meta AI assistant, The Information reported connected Wednesday.

The revival of this task marks a important instrumentality for AI-powered wearables, peculiarly successful the wellness and fittingness industry.

The study besides indicated that Meta has astir 4 augmented world (AR) and mixed world (MR) glasses nether development. The institution is presently reevaluating its motorboat schedules to forestall the merchandise of excessively galore devices successful a abbreviated period, which could perchance confuse consumers.

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Reality Labs employees were notified successful December that the motorboat of Phoenix, its MR glasses, had been delayed until 2027.

The institution had initially toyed with the thought of a smartwatch astir 5 years ago, adjacent contemplating a mentation equipped with 3 cameras. However, successful 2022, the task was enactment connected clasp owed to fund cuts successful its Reality Labs division.

Meta Platforms did not instantly respond to Benzinga’s petition for comment.

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The resurrection of the smartwatch task aligns with Meta’s broader strategy of expanding its footprint successful the wearables market. In October, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed assurance successful the profitability of the company’s increasing wearables business, highlighting the imaginable of services and AI features layered connected apical of instrumentality sales.

In January, Meta stated that it is delaying the planetary motorboat of its latest AI-powered Ray-Ban astute glasses arsenic U.S. request outpaces supply, forcing the institution to absorption connected fulfilling home orders earlier expanding abroad. Interestingly, the Ray-Ban Display was expected to beryllium paired with a wrist-worn "Neural Band" for motion power with features similar a teleprompter mode and gesture-based penning astatine CES 2026.

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