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Meta, the company that owns Facebook, is reportedly developing a smartwatch

Portrait of Brett Molina Brett Molina
USA TODAY

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is reportedly working on its own smartwatch.

According to Bloomberg, the watch will have a front-facing camera at the bottom of the display, a detachable wrist strap and a rounded body.

The report cites an image of the watch found on a Meta app used to control smart glasses the company introduced as part of a partnership with Ray-Ban.

Representatives from Meta could not be immediately reached for comment.

This is not the first time reports have surfaced of Meta's plans for a smartphone. In June, The Verge reported the watch would have two cameras that can be detached from the wrist to take pictures to post on apps like Facebook or Instagram.

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A potential smartwatch would put Meta in direct competition with Apple, which develops the popular Apple Watch.

Apple and Meta have publicly squabbled over how user data is collected. This year, Apple introduced an "App Tracking Transparency" feature, giving users more control over their data and impacting Meta's business.

During the keynote for its Connect conference Thursday announcing the company name change to Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a swipe at Apple, decrying experiences that are "more tightly controlled than ever" in his pitch supporting the metaverse, a more connected online experience blending elements of virtual reality and augmented reality.

"This is not the way that we are meant to use technology," Zuckerberg said. "The metaverse gives us an opportunity to change that if we build it well." 

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Jessica Guynn contributed to this report. Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.

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