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Meta is reportedly gearing up to enter another segment of the wearables market. According to The Information, the company is planning to release its first smartwatch sometime this year. Meta has revived its smartwatch initiative internally called Malibu 2, The Information says, which will come with Meta AI and health tracking.The same publication reported back in 2021 that Meta was working on a smartwatch powered by an open-source version of Android. Over the next year, more details of its possible features emerged, including reports that it had a detachable camera and that Meta was developing a model with up to three cameras. But in 2022, the company was believed to have put the project on hold to focus on other wearable devices. The Information says the decision to pause its smartwatch project was made as part of a broader cut in spending in the Reality Labs division. If youll recall, Meta laid off more than 1,000 employees from Reality Labs in January, because the division was hemorrhaging money. Mark Zuckerberg said during an earnings call after the layoffs started that when it comes to Reality Labs, the company was focusing most of its investment towards glasses and wearables going forward. At the moment, Metas wearable products are comprised of virtual reality headsets and smartglasses. They include the Meta Ray-Bans, which are a hit in the US. Meta reportedly has four augmented reality and mixed-reality glasses in development, but itll take some time until we see them. Based on previous reports, it pushed back the unveiling of its next mixed reality headset model codenamed Phoenix to early 2027.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/meta-reportedly-plans-to-release-a-smartwatch-this-year-121247838.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
The average smartphone lasts about two years before it's replaced. Vignette Tech wants to flip the script on how people feel about holding onto their devices. The concept is simple: colorful stickers that users stick on the back of their phones, tablets or laptops one for each year of use. Instead of looking outdated, a phone sporting stickers reading '22, '23, '24 and '25 signals longevity. Anyone who's driven through Switzerland will recognize the inspiration: the colorful annual toll stickers that accumulate on car windshields year after year. Vignette Tech transplants that familiar visual logic onto personal electronics.The stickers are sold in sets covering different time ranges, with the latest edition running from 2026 through 2031, and are priced at EUR 4 or 5 per sheet. There's even a "Highlander" edition, for those rocking phones or laptops from the mid-2010s. Sales proceeds from the initiative, created by French design agency Machin Bidule, also support La Collecte Tech and Emmaüs Connect, organizations working on digital inclusion and electronic waste reduction in France.TREND BITEWith manufacturers like Google and Samsung now offering seven-plus years of software support, the technical case for holding on to a phone has never been stronger but the pressure to upgrade remains relentless. Vignette Tech is interesting because it addresses the problem at an identity level rather than at a guilt level. Instead of lecturing people about e-waste, it makes longevity a flex. That cultural reframing aligns with a broader pattern worth replicating: brands and creators finding ways to make sustainable behavior socially desirable rather than morally obligatory.
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Marketing and Advertising
Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Wednesday in a high-profile jury trial over social media addiction. In an appearance that was described by NBC News as "combative," the Facebook founder reportedly said that Meta's goal was to make Instagram "useful" not increase the time users are spending in the app. On the stand, Zuckerberg was questioned about a company document that said improving engagement was among "company goals," according to CNBC. But Zuckerberg claimed that the company had "made the conscious decision to move away from those goals, focusing instead on utility," according to The Associated Press. "If something is valuable, people will use it more because its useful to them, he said. The trial stems from a lawsuit brought by a California woman identified as "KGM" in court documents. The now 20-year-old alleges that she was harmed as a child by addictive features in Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok. TikTok and Snap opted to settle before the case went to trial. Zuckerberg was also asked about previous public statements, including his remarks on Joe Rogan's podcast last year that he can't be fired by Meta's board because he controls a majority of the voting power. According to The New York Times, Zuckerberg accused the plaintiffs' lawyer of "mischaracterizing" his past comments more than a dozen times. Zuckerberg's appearance in court also apparently prompted the judge to warn people in the courtroom not to record the proceedings using AI glasses. As CNBC notes, members of Zuckerberg's entourage were spotted wearing Meta's smart glasses as the CEO was escorted into the courthouse. It's unclear if anyone was actually using the glasses in court, but legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff reported that the judge was particularly concerned about the possibility of jurors being recorded or subjected to facial recognition. (Meta's smart glasses do not currently have native facial recognition abilities, but recent reports suggest the company is considering adding such features.)The Los Angeles trial has been closely watched not just because it marked a rare in-court appearance for Zuckerberg. It's among the first of several cases where Meta will face allegations that its platforms have harmed children. In this case and in a separate proceeding in New Mexico, Meta's lawyers have cast doubt on the idea that social media should be considered a real addiction. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri previously testified in the same Los Angeles trial that Instagram isn't "clinically addictive."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/mark-zuckerberg-testifies-in-social-media-addiction-trial-that-meta-just-wants-instagram-to-be-useful-234332316.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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