Facebook's MetaWatch flaunts a notch on the camera

In the first leaked images of Facebook's smartwatch, there is a notch, which is the kind of thing people love and what appears to be a front-facing camera. In the photo, the clock display is off, but the small camera eye is clearly visible. 

The photo, which was first reported by Bloomberg, was found within the company's app for its Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses. The watch, referred to as "Milan" in the code, has a large screen like the Apple Watch, but that smartwatch doesn't have a camera. The current image may not be a version consumers have ever seen, according to Bloomberg. Still, it confirms previous reports about Facebook's work.

If this is the same watch as the one we reported in June, there will also be a second detachable camera. The front camera can be used for video calls and has a reasonably high resolution of 1080p. The watch will support LTE. In February, The Information reported that the watch will have health, fitness and messaging functions. In June, the plan was to launch the device in the summer of 2022, although the Bloomberg source says a final decision on the timing of the launch has yet to be made.

The smartwatch market is dominated by Google, Garmin, Samsung, and Apple. So, to distinguish itself, Facebook's offering is meant to more closely mimic a smartphone. Underscoring the rivalry, CEO Mark Zuckerberg made several hits on what he called "closed platforms," ​​possibly referring to Android and iOS, during Connect's keynote address Thursday. Earlier this week, in its earnings call, Facebook partially blamed Apple's ad tracking features for lost revenue targets.

Earlier today, Facebook changed the name of its parent company to Meta. But there is already a MetaWatch from 2014. Hopefully, this will mean strange lawsuits around branding and intellectual property, and the legal discovery that comes with it. The company formerly known as Facebook declined to comment for this story.