- Meta's new Muse Charm puts its AI assistant into a pocket-sized device as Mark Zuckerberg shifts the company's hardware strategy toward personal AI, smart glasses, and devices that can operate beyond traditional smartphone apps.
Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) unveiled a small handheld device called Muse Charm at its annual Connect conference, giving users a dedicated way to access the company's Muse AI assistant without opening a smartphone app.
The device is part of a broader shift in Meta's technology strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously made the metaverse the company's central hardware bet, but he is now describing personal superintelligence as a more important opportunity and is building hardware around that vision. Reuters reported that Zuckerberg sees Muse and the devices supporting it as the company's next major computing platform.
Muse Charm is roughly pocket-watch sized and has a screen of about 2 inches. It includes a built-in 5G modem, allowing users to access Muse away from Wi-Fi, and is designed to be carried on a keychain, in a pocket or with a strap. Meta plans to make it available by December but has not announced a final price.
The announcement comes only weeks after Meta launched Muse across smartphones and the web, making the Charm an attempt to extend the AI assistant into a dedicated physical product.
Meta Is Building a Personal AI Ecosystem Around Muse
The most important part of the Charm announcement may not be the device itself, but the hardware ecosystem Meta is building around Muse. Reuters reported that Meta wants Muse to move beyond smartphones and eventually become available across its smart-glasses lineup. At Connect, Meta confirmed that its AI glasses will gain access to Muse, allowing users to interact with the assistant hands-free.
Meta also introduced new Ray-Ban Meta models, including Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 and Ray-Ban Meta Audio. The company said it will offer more than 100 glasses options across Ray-Ban, Oakley and Meta Glasses by the end of 2026.
Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 starts at $449, while the new camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses start at $349. Meta says the Audio model can provide up to 12 hours of use on a charge, while Gen 3 offers up to nine hours.
The strategy gives Meta several ways to distribute the same AI service. Users can interact with Muse through a phone, smart glasses, or a dedicated Charm device, depending on how they want to use the technology.
That matters because Meta already has one of the world's largest consumer technology audiences. The company's second-quarter results showed 3.60 billion daily active people across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and its other family of apps. Revenue reached $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year.
The company is also spending heavily to support the strategy. Meta expects $130 billion to $145 billion in 2026 capital expenditures, according to its latest financial guidance.
Meta's AI Hardware Bet Moves Beyond the Metaverse
The Charm announcement represents a notable change in emphasis for Meta. The company changed its name from Facebook to Meta in 2021 as Zuckerberg placed the metaverse at the center of its long-term strategy. Reality Labs has since absorbed substantial investment in virtual and augmented reality hardware.
Zuckerberg is now placing greater emphasis on personal AI. Reuters reported that he told employees and investors that personal superintelligence would come before and potentially become more important than the metaverse as a computing platform.
Meta is not abandoning immersive hardware. The company also unveiled Meta VR Glasses, a 100-gram wearable designed for immersive entertainment, gaming and a multi-screen workspace. The glasses are priced at $1,299 and are expected to launch in spring 2027.
The difference is that AI is increasingly being built into the hardware rather than treated as a separate application.
That approach could give Meta more control over how consumers interact with its AI products. Reuters noted that the Charm allows users to bypass conventional AI applications on Apple and Google's smartphone operating systems.
There is also a practical question around whether consumers need another device.
Meta executives have described Charm as an exploration rather than the center of the company's hardware strategy. The company expects more people to use Muse through smartphones and glasses than through the dedicated Charm device, according to The Irish Times.
The challenge is familiar in consumer technology: a new device has to offer something that existing smartphones, watches, earbuds and glasses cannot provide easily enough to justify carrying another piece of hardware.
For Meta, however, the Charm is part of a much larger bet. The company is trying to make Muse a persistent personal AI service that follows users across devices rather than remaining inside a single application.