Up to now, Facebook has solely operated in the field of social media.

Since it began life in February 2004, Facebook has gone from strength to strength, fast establishing itself as one of the most influential and valuable companies in the world. Indeed, it is a member of the Big Five tech companies in the US, alongside fellow giants of the tech industry Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon.

What distinguishes Facebook from these companies is that they do not create and distribute physical products. Facebook provides services such as their own eponymous social media platform and the services they have purchased including WhatsApp and Instagram. However, this is could be about to change with the potential release of its first smartwatch.

What is happening?

Smartwatches come under the general rubric of wearable technology. Although there had been multiple attempts to create a marketable, smartwatches truly gained traction with the arrival of Apple’s first Apple Watch in 2014. Since then, smartwatches have continued to gain popularity with multiple companies releasing competing products.

In June 2021, it was announced that Facebook had begun work on its smartwatch. The company has yet to confirm it publicly, but it is thought that Facebook’s smartwatch will debut in the summer of 2022. If the company does follow through on this plan, it would be the first occasion when Facebook has produced a piece of wearable technology. In fact, it would be the first time that Facebook had successfully produced a physical product for retail.

This is not to say, however, that Facebook has toyed with the idea of creating wearable technology. In September 2020, it was announced that Facebook was partnering with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, the eye and sunglasses giant, to develop Facebook’s first set of ‘smart glasses’. Facebook’s clear interest in developing wearable technology was articulated by Andrew Bosworth, Facebook’s vice president of the Reality Labs division:

‘We’re passionate about exploring devices that can give people better ways to connect with those closest to them. Wearables have the potential to do that. With EssilorLuxottica we have an equally ambitious partner who’ll lend their expertise and world-class brand catalogue to the first truly fashionable smart glasses,’

This is part of Facebook’s new enterprise, Project Aria, a project that Facebook describe as ‘a new research project that will help us build the first generation of wearable augmented reality devices’. If there was any doubt about the sincerity of Facebook’s goals, then the presence of Project Aria should dispel these.

The smartwatch

Unlike their Augmented Reality (AR) glasses, there are firmer details on their new smartwatch, even though the company itself has yet to confirm their plans publicly. Firstly, when the news first leaked that a Facebook smartwatch would be available in the not-too-distant future, it was revealed that the device would feature two cameras that could detach from the wrist. The camera on the front is designed for video calling whilst the back camera would be used for capturing photos and videos.

The heavy stress being placed on the cameras signals the area of the smartwatch market that Facebook wants to attack. Currently, there is a select group of smartwatches that have a camera, but there is only one watch that has two cameras and it is designed for children. This means, therefore, that Facebook has identified a niche in the market that it can dominate.

The proposed makeup of Facebook’s smartwatch distinguishes it from others in the field. However, Tom Bedford, writing for TechRadar, suggested that the product could be well-positioned to compete with a non-smartwatch product, namely GoPro, the action camera developer. The GoPro cameras are characterised by their versatility as products that are designed to capture high-quality video on the move. Now, with its two cameras, the Facebook smartwatch has the potential to vie with GoPro.

For Facebook’s smartwatch to have any chance of having similar success to GoPro, the smartwatch itself must have other features that will appeal to consumers. As part of its production process, Facebook is working with US wireless carriers to provide LTE (Long Term Evolution) connectivity. This would mean that the watch will not need to be paired with a phone. Further to this, LTE connectivity would enable Facebook’s suite of applications, such as Instagram, to be operated on the watch. Accordingly, the Facebook smartwatch becomes more than just a watch with cameras. It is only with such capabilities that Facebook’s product can begin to compete with the more established players in the market.

About the Author: James Hingley

James Hingley is a contributing Features Writer with extensive expertise in International Relations, Politics and Culture.