The first image of a smartwatch being developed by Meta, formerly Facebook, shows the much-rumored device with a front-facing camera and rounded screen, according to a report by Bloomberg on Thursday. The image was reportedly found inside one of the tech giant’s iPhone apps.
The watch in the image features a front-facing camera at the bottom of the watch’s display, and a control button appears on the right side of the watch’s casing. The image was found by app developer Steve Moser in Meta’s app for controlling Facebook’s Ray-Ban Stories sunglasses, Bloomberg reported.
While its display is similar in style to that of the Apple Watch, the front-facing camera would set it apart from its main competition in the market. A handful of smaller manufacturers make smartwatches with cameras, but Apple and Samsung currently don’t. The Samsung Galaxy Gear, released in 2013, featured a 1.9-megapixel camera on its band.
The much-rumored watch has been expected to make its debut next summer, with two cameras for taking photos and video, as well as health features like a heart rate monitor.
Facebook has publicly discussed its work on wrist-worn technology that can sense neural signals, measure hand and finger gestures and provide haptic feedback. The company has said it envisions this technology one day working alongside Facebook’s upcoming AR smart glasses.
A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the photo.
