A Facebook-branded Apple Watch is expected as soon as 2022

Feb 14, 2021 12:16 GMT  ·  By

When it’s not worrying about the en-masse migration from WhatsApp to alternative platforms, Facebook actually finds some time to focus on its long-term strategy, and according to a recent report, this one includes some pretty ambitious ideas.

One of them is a smartwatch that could compete against the Apple Watch and which would turn the social network into a key player in the wearable device industry.

More specifically, what Facebook wants to do is build an LTE- capable smartwatch, which means it would be able to work without a permanent connection to a smartphone. By the looks of things, Facebook wants to go after the Apple Watch specifically, so it’ll bet big on health tracking.

Of course, while it’ll be quite a challenge to convince users to hand their health data to Facebook, the social network believes this is totally possible, so it’s planning to work together with health and fitness companies like Peloton Interactive.

Coming in 2022?

According to a report from The Information, Facebook wants to develop its very own operating system to power the smartwatch, but the first-generation model could be powered by an open-source version of Google’s Android.

But one of the most important tidbits is that Facebook wants to price the smartwatch as aggressively as possible, as the company wants to keep the margin as low as possible. So theoretically, Facebook wants its smartwatch to be as compelling as possible, though it’ll obviously be quite a challenge given its controversial track record when it comes to user privacy.

Needless to say, the social network has remained completely tight-lipped on such a project, but the first model could launch as soon as 2022. The report, however, emphasizes a decision hasn’t been made just yet, so the project could be entirely killed off or delayed by the time the go-ahead is given.