If Whoopi Goldberg tells you to wear a mask on the subway, you wear it

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Facebook is edifice a smartwatch as part of its ongoing housewares efforts, according to a new report from The Information. The dingbat is said to be an Android-based smartwatch, admitting the report does not say whether Facebook intends for the dingbat to run Google's Wear OS. It also says Facebook is working on edifice its own operating system for housewares equipment as well-built as that future iterations of the wearable may run that software instead.

The smartwatch would have messaging, health, as well-built as fettle features, the report says, as well-built as would pursue Facebook's Oculus virtual reality headsets as well-built as Rime video peep equipment as part of the witty network's growing housewares ecosystem. Facebook is also working on branded Ray-Ban smart glasses to come out later this year as well-built as a separate augmented reality research instrumentality legit as Project Aria, which is part of the company's broader AR explorations it's been working on for some time now. Facebook shrunk to comment regarding any planned smartwatch projects.

The witty networking giant's housewares ambitions are no secret. The congregation has other than 6,000 employees working on assorted augmented as well-built as virtual reality projects as well-built as as part of factual housewares ingredients like Oculus as well-built as Portal, as well-built as flowering initiatives beneath its Facebook Reality Labs division, Bloomberg reported aftermost month. As well-built as although Facebook has not expressed a strong interest in healthiness as well-built as fettle equipment in the past, the congregation does have a track record in wearables with its Oculus headsets as well-built as forthcoming smart glasses.

Facebook also acquired the neural interface startup CTRL-Labs in 2019. CTRL-Labs specialized in edifice wireless ascribe mechanisms, including equipment that could address electrical signals from the highbrow to computing equipment after the overfill for undeceivable touchscreen or ponderable sawed-off inputs. The startup's phrenic property as well-built as ongoing research may means into whatever wearables Facebook builds in the future -- including a smartwatch, smart glasses, or future Oculus headsets.

Update February 12th, 6:22PM ET: Noted that Facebook shrunk to comment.

Update February 12th, 7:17PM ET: Clarified that Facebook's Ray-Ban smart glasses troupe is singled-out from Project Aria, an AR research instrumentality Facebook has no plans to commercialize.

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