Meta has revived an internal smartwatch project called Malibu 2, targeting a debut later in 2026 with built-in health tracking and its own AI assistant baked directly into the device. The company has declined to comment on the effort, but the project represents a second attempt at wrist-worn hardware after an earlier prototype was shelved years ago. If Meta follows through, the watch would place the company in direct competition with Apple and Google in a product category where regulatory approval for health claims and tight hardware–software coordination separate serious contenders from also-rans.
Why a Meta smartwatch with onboard AI changes the competitive math
The decision to build its own AI assistant into Malibu 2, rather than licensing a third-party voice platform, signals that Meta wants full control over the data pipeline from sensor to screen. That choice carries real consequences. Tight integration between proprietary AI and health-tracking sensors can speed up feature development internally, because engineers working on the model and the hardware sit under the same roof. Apple has demonstrated this advantage for years, iterating on blood oxygen and heart-rate features through close coordination between its chip, sensor, and software teams.
But the same decision introduces friction on the regulatory side. Health-tracking claims tied to optical heart-rate sensors, SpO2 readings, or electrocardiogram features typically require clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent bodies abroad. Companies that have already shipped certified health wearables, such as Apple with its Watch and Google with the Pixel Watch line, hold institutional knowledge about the clearance process that Meta does not yet possess. Embedding a proprietary AI layer adds another variable regulators must evaluate, because the accuracy of health alerts can depend on how the model interprets raw sensor data. The practical effect is that Meta may ship a first-generation watch with fewer certified health features than its rivals offer, even if the underlying hardware is capable of more.
For consumers, this tension matters. A smartwatch that promises health tracking but lacks regulatory clearance for specific measurements occupies an awkward middle ground between a fitness band and a medical-grade monitor. Buyers will need to check which health features carry formal certification at launch and which are labeled as general wellness tools with no clinical backing.
Malibu 2 and the trail from Meta’s canceled Milan prototype
Malibu 2 is not Meta’s first attempt at a smartwatch. The company previously developed a dual-camera prototype codenamed Milan, which was designed as a direct competitor to the Apple Watch. That earlier device, described in Bloomberg reporting, was ultimately halted after internal questions arose about whether the hardware fit the company’s broader priorities at the time.
The Milan prototype stood out for its unusual form factor, featuring two cameras on a wrist-worn device, a design choice that raised both engineering and privacy questions. Packing cameras into a watch complicates battery life, water resistance, and strap design. It also invites scrutiny over bystander privacy when a camera is always visible on a user’s wrist. Those issues were never fully resolved publicly before the project ended, and Meta shifted its focus toward other hardware bets.
The revival under the Malibu 2 name suggests Meta has recalibrated its ambitions. Where Milan leaned on camera hardware as a differentiator, the new project appears to center on health sensors and AI, a combination more aligned with what mainstream smartwatch buyers actually want. According to coverage from Reuters, Malibu 2 is expected to offer health tracking and a built-in Meta AI assistant, with a target launch window in 2026. Meta declined to comment on the project when asked, leaving many specifics unconfirmed.
The gap between Milan’s cancellation and Malibu 2’s emergence spans several years, during which Meta poured billions into virtual reality headsets and augmented reality glasses. Those investments have not yet produced the kind of mass-market consumer hardware hit that a smartwatch could represent. A wrist-worn device with daily utility – step counting, sleep tracking, notifications, and quick AI-powered replies to messages – would give Meta a persistent presence on users’ bodies in a way that a VR headset worn for an hour at a time cannot match. It would also extend Meta’s ecosystem beyond phones and PCs, creating another surface where its services and advertising infrastructure could eventually appear.
What health tracking and AI certification hurdles remain for Malibu 2
Several open questions hang over the project. First, Meta has not disclosed which specific health metrics Malibu 2 will track. Heart rate, sleep stages, and step counting are table stakes in the wearable market, but the features that drive purchase decisions, such as ECG readings, blood oxygen monitoring, and irregular heart rhythm notifications, require regulatory sign-off that takes months or years to secure. Without clarity on which sensors the watch will carry, it is impossible to judge whether Malibu 2 will compete with the latest Apple Watch or Pixel Watch models on health capabilities at launch.
Second, the role of the built-in Meta AI assistant raises its own set of questions. Will the assistant process health data on-device or send it to Meta’s cloud servers? The answer has direct implications for user privacy and for the speed at which the AI can deliver real-time health alerts. On-device processing is more private and can reduce latency, but it requires a powerful chip and efficient battery management, both difficult engineering problems on a small wrist-worn form factor. Cloud processing is easier to scale and update but exposes sensitive health data to network transmission and server-side storage, a sensitive topic for a company that has faced repeated scrutiny over its data practices.
Third, Meta’s track record with consumer hardware outside of VR is thin. The company sells Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and has iterated on its Quest headset line, but it has never shipped a device that competes head-on with entrenched players in a mature, health-focused category. Entering the smartwatch market means not only matching rivals on sensors and software, but also building reliable manufacturing, repair, and support pipelines for a product that people may wear all day, every day.
Those operational details intersect with regulation in complex ways. If Malibu 2 offers features such as fall detection, arrhythmia alerts, or blood oxygen warnings, Meta will need to demonstrate to regulators that the system performs consistently across populations and conditions. Because the AI assistant will likely play a role in interpreting patterns and deciding when to notify users, regulators may probe how the models were trained, what datasets were used, and how often the algorithms will be updated after launch. Frequent over-the-air model changes can improve performance, but they can also complicate regulatory filings if each update meaningfully alters how health alerts are generated.
Meta will also face decisions about how prominently to market any health capabilities that lack formal clearance. Many wearables frame certain metrics as “wellness” features, avoiding explicit diagnostic language to stay outside strict medical device rules. If Malibu 2 leans heavily on that framing, it could ship more quickly but risk confusing consumers who assume that any health number displayed on a polished smartwatch carries clinical weight. Clear labeling and in-app explanations will be essential if the watch launches with a mix of certified and non-certified features.
How Malibu 2 could reshape Meta’s hardware ambitions
If Malibu 2 reaches the market on schedule, it will test whether Meta can translate its software and AI strengths into a daily-use device that competes with the most polished hardware ecosystems in consumer tech. A successful launch would diversify Meta’s hardware portfolio beyond headsets and glasses, anchoring its services to a device that users check dozens of times a day. It could also provide a new stream of sensor data to feed Meta’s AI models, though doing so responsibly will require strict privacy controls and transparent consent flows.
Conversely, a watch that arrives late, lacks key health certifications, or feels disjointed from Meta’s broader ecosystem could reinforce perceptions that the company struggles to execute on non-VR hardware. Malibu 2’s emphasis on health tracking and AI suggests Meta understands what mainstream smartwatch buyers prioritize. The remaining question is whether it can navigate regulatory, engineering, and trust challenges quickly enough to matter in a market already defined by powerful incumbents.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
