Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed a keychain-sized AI pendant called the Muse Charm during Meta Connect, positioning the company to reach the consumer AI device market ahead of OpenAI.
Mark Zuckerberg Unveils the Muse Charm and Pushes Into Wearables
Meta is making its move to capture the consumer AI device market before rival OpenAI releases dedicated hardware. At the company’s annual Connect conference in Menlo Park, CEO Mark Zuckerberg showcased a slew of new products anchored by the Muse AI agent, an assistant designed to handle tasks like booking travel and managing emails.
The headline hardware reveal was the Muse Charm, a pendant resembling a cross between a Tamagotchi keychain and a wearable medical buzzer. Equipped with a fingerprint sensor for voice activation, the device aims to give users rapid, hands-on access to their AI assistant. Zuckerberg noted that Meta is still finalizing the finishing material
and laying out the components
ahead of a holiday shipping schedule. The company did not announce a price for the pendant.
Beyond the pendant, Meta updated its hardware lineup with new consumer tech. The company announced that its Ray-Ban smart glasses will integrate the Muse AI agent in the coming months, offering hands-free access triggered by saying the agent’s name. Meta also introduced a slimmer, lighter pair of virtual reality glasses priced at $1,299, slated to go on sale next year as the company’s first VR device since the $299 Quest 3S debuted in 2024, according to reporting from CNBC.
Market Strategy, Retail Partnerships, and the Race Past OpenAI
The hardware blitz marks a sharp pivot for Zuckerberg, who spent the previous five years pouring billions into virtual reality and the metaverse after rebranding Facebook in October 2021. With generative AI scaling rapidly, Meta has accelerated its spending. The company plans to lay out between $130 billion and $145 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, more than double its combined spending from 2024 and 2025, while breaking ground on nine data centers, including a massive $50 billion project in Richland Parish, Louisiana. Alexandr Wang, who joined Meta as head of Meta Superintelligence Labs following a $14 billion stake purchase in Scale AI, took the stage to announce major retail integrations.
I think this could be a generational opportunity to start building for a new platform as it takes off.
Alexandr Wang, Head of Meta Superintelligence Labs, via Business Insider
Wang told the audience that Walmart, Best Buy, Dick’s, and a dozen other retailers will connect to Muse, reported Business Insider. This hardware push allows Meta to bypass Apple for app distribution, a vulnerability exposed when Apple altered its privacy policies in 2021.
Investors have responded favorably to the pivot. Meta’s share price has climbed roughly 25% since the initial launch of the Muse app, which quickly topped Apple’s App Store charts.
Skepticism Over Demand and the Search for a Working Economic Model
Despite the enthusiasm in Menlo Park, industry analysts and retail executives remain cautious about whether consumers actually want dedicated AI hardware when smartphones already dominate daily life.
Why would I carry another device? For it to be valuable, it has to be easier than using my phone. If I still have to pull out my phone to finish the job or fix the order, it’s just another thing to charge.
Anthony Ferry, CEO of Wayvia, via CNBC
Other market watchers see clear utility in the approach.
Monetization remains another hurdle.
As OpenAI prepares to host its DevDay conference next week amid widespread anticipation of its own hardware announcements, Meta is counting on holiday shipments of the Muse Charm and upcoming smart glasses rollouts to prove that its consumer hardware gamble can sustain its massive infrastructure spending.