Social media giant Facebook is developing a smartwatch, the first foray of the company to the wearables market, dominated by Apple’s likes. According to a report from The Information, the company is developing a smartwatch that will offer health and fitness features on top of Facebook’s services.
People will be able to send messages directly from the smartwatch using Facebook social media and messaging services.
The report also notes that the smartwatch will have LTE support, meaning it will work independently without being tied to a smartphone. Facebook will use aggressive pricing to have a competitive advantage over established wearable companies like Samsung and Apple.
According to data from analytics firm Counterpoint Research, in Q3, 2020, Apple’s smartwatch shipments accounted for 28 percent of the market. The research firm expects the market to grow in 2021.
Facebook’s smartwatch is expected to go on sale next year, although that depends on how things will go in the development stages. Meanwhile, the smartwatch project is in early development, and till then, anything can happen.
Facebook’s foray into smartwatches is a first (at least, publicly), but the company has made advancements in making hardware before. Facebook’s hardware division currently has two consumer-facing gadgets, the Oculus virtual reality headsets and Portal, its line of video-calling devices.
Facebook and Data Privacy
With the recent backlash over the WhatsApp Privacy policy update, people would be more skeptical about sharing even more data with the social media giant. The company’s privacy policy changes to WhatsApp drew fury and anger resulting in a mass migration to other alternative secure platforms, including Telegram and Signal.
Facebook responded by giving users more time to accept the new privacy policy that will allow WhatsApp to share business data with other Facebook services for various purposes, among them advertising.
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