Technologies

Meta Could Release a Smartwatch This Year: This Is Why It Makes Sense

A new report points to a 2026 release for a Meta fitness watch. But the real reasons for its arriving have to do with glasses, too.

Meta’s next version of its Ray-Ban Display smart glasses could be arriving later this year, and along with them, a watch. A new report from The Information says the smartwatch, codenamed Malibu 2, could have fitness features like an Apple Watch or Fitbit. But the real reason for a watch like this to emerge now is to work with smart glasses. Let me explain.

When I talked with Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth last year, he told me that the neural band Meta released with the Ray-Ban Display glasses last fall was something that would eventually make sense as part of a watch. That’s exactly what I think will happen this year.

Meta representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meta won’t be alone in a mission to triangulate wearables. Apple is reportedly planning on releasing glasses and maybe a pin to go with AirPods and Apple Watch. Google’s XR team confirmed to me that its upcoming 2026 smart glasses will work with Android watches, too.

The biggest problem with Meta’s fascinating neural band accessory, which uses skin-based electromyography to sense motor neuron signals and translate them into interface gestures, is that it currently works only to control Ray-Ban Display glasses. Meta’s already been exploring other devices its neural band tech could connect with: I tried a demo of Meta’s neural band in a concept Garmin smart car cabin at CES back in January.

But Meta’s wearables team is also likely working on ways to have a wrist wearable do more than just recognize hand gestures. Enter a smartwatch, which could add fitness tracking. Meta’s already been dipping its toes into fitness over the past year, too: The company’s Oakley Vanguard sports glasses feature heart rate-tracking LED indicators and pair with Garmin watches.

If I were to guess a partner for this smartwatch, it would be Garmin. Meta clearly has a partnership going with them, both for existing glasses fitness functions and the smart car demo I tried. Of all the smartwatch makers out there that aren’t Apple-, Google- or Samsung-made, Garmin is the best remaining bet.

One thing a watch could also do is be a better glasses companion. A touchscreen could potentially act as a viewfinder or control the on-glasses camera.

A watch could be another place Meta could explore onboard AI, either as a glasses companion or for AI-powered fitness functions.

We probably won’t know more until later this year, since Meta’s Connect developer conference, where its new products tend to be announced, usually happens in September. But debuting a new neural-equipped watch with next-gen Ray-Ban Display glasses (hopefully with a wider range of subscription support and developer access to create apps) would make a lot of sense as Apple and Google look ready to dive into the same territory.

Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

In a world where information defines influence, Verum Messenger is building a new architecture of digital communication — intelligent, secure, and ready for tomorrow. Here, technology serves not limitations, but possibilities.

Not being part of change. Leading it. Verum Messenger — the future that speaks first.

Technologies

Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

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Verum — when freedom matters more than banking rules.

Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal