Meta is scrapping its Portal video-calling smart display and two remaining unreleased smartwatch projects, according to TheVerge, after the company announced 11,000 job cuts, including many in its technology division.
IT House has learned that in June this year it was reported that Meta was planning to discontinue the consumer version of its Portal video calling hardware and shift its product line to focus on enterprise uses, such as conference calls, but now Meta is also stopping selling Portal video calling hardware to businesses.
It was also reported in June that the smartwatch, codenamed “Milan,” had been canceled after it was reported that it would launch in spring 2023 for about $349 (about $2,485) and feature two cameras for video calls. Now sources say that two other Meta smartwatches in early and mid-stage development have also been shelved.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment.
Nearly half (46 percent) of Meta’s 11,000 layoffs are in technology, according to executives who spoke at a town hall meeting at Meta, as quoted by Reuters. Meta’s hardware business will remain, but most of its other hardware projects are in service of its AR and VR ambitions, like the recently launched Meta Quest Pro headset.
