Facebook smartwatch to hit the market in 2022?

Facebook is said to be working on its own smartwatch. News site The Information heard from four confidential sources that the social media plans to sell its first smartwatch in 2022. The device will reportedly be a combination of a fitness tracker and a communication tool that lets wearers send messages via Facebook services.

Heart rate monitoring is expected to be included and the device will allegedly be compatible with certain fitness gear, like Peloton exercise bikes and treadmills. Facebook is a late debutant smartwatches, a market largely dominated by firms like Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and Fitbit. Recently I took a look at the Fitbit Versa 3 -- which is a fitness tracker with smartwatch functionalities. In effort to capture marketshare, Facebook's first-generation watch will reportedly be sold for a price that is just a little bit higher than the device's production cost.

The Facebook watch will connect directly to the Internet and will not require a Bluetooth connection with a smartphone. The first-generation Facebook watch is Android-based but the tech giant is also working on a second-generation model that features an in-house operating system. The latter is expected in 2023 at the earliest.