Does anyone actually want to give Mark Zuckerberg direct access to their pulse?
Apparently the geniuses at Meta believe the answer is a resounding yes. After failing to launch a watch for years, they are back at it again because the world clearly needs another black square that tells you to stand up while simultaneously selling your location data to the highest bidder. It is a solution in search of a problem, or more accurately, a data-harvesting tool in search of a wrist.
What makes this different from the fifty other smartwatches on the market?
Nothing except the crushing weight of Metas reputation. While Apple and Garmin focus on fitness and health, Meta is likely focusing on how to integrate its dying metaverse into a two-inch screen. Imagine getting pestered by VR avatars on your wrist while you are trying to buy groceries. It is the tech equivalent of a door-to-door salesman who refuses to leave your porch and eventually decides to just live in your pocket.
Is there any reason to be optimistic about this hardware?
Only if you enjoy watching massive corporations set money on fire. Meta has a storied history of building hardware that people either ignore or mock. From the Portal to those weird Ray-Bans, they are desperate to own the hardware layer so they can stop being bullied by Apple. Unfortunately for them, hardware requires trust, and Meta has about as much public trust as a gas station sushi platter. This watch will likely end up in the same bargain bin as the Facebook Phone.
The bottom line: This is a desperate play for relevance in a market that moved on five years ago. We are looking at a device that will be over-engineered, over-priced, and under-supported within twenty four months. This is what happens when a company has too much cash and not enough original ideas. They are late to the party and they brought a gift that nobody wants to open.
Leave a Reply