Just weeks after Muse's launch, Meta unveiled a standalone hardware device for it. The Muse Charm is palm-sized, features a 2-inch OLED screen, front and rear cameras, and 5G connectivity, with a planned release in December. Originally slated for a 2027 launch, Zuckerberg brought the product forward by a year.
On Wednesday local time, Meta Platforms (META.O) unveiled the Muse Charm, a handheld device designed specifically for its personal AI agent, Muse, at its annual Connect conference. The new product features a roughly 2-inch OLED touchscreen, front and rear cameras, and 5G connectivity, and is scheduled to launch in December this year; Meta has not yet determined the final price.
Just weeks after Muse launched on mobile and web, Meta developed a dedicated hardware device for it. At the launch event, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that if users aren’t wearing smart glasses, Charm will be one of the fastest ways to interact with Muse and enable Muse to understand the surrounding environment—allowing users to invoke the AI agent without unlocking their phone or opening an app.
Foreign media reported that Muse Charm was initially just an experimental prototype, but Zuckerberg pushed the team to turn it into an official project and moved up the planned launch date from 2027 to the end of 2026. Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, said the device took only about nine months from initial concept to completion.
A handheld AI terminal designed exclusively for Muse
The Muse Charm is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and resembles the popular 1990s electronic pet, Tamagotchi. The device runs a new operating system developed by Meta, displaying a virtual Muse character at the center of the screen that users can customize in terms of appearance, clothing, voice, and other attributes.
Charm is built with a 5G modem, enabling connection to the Muse model even without Wi-Fi. The device features speakers, a microphone, a USB-C port, and front and rear cameras for taking photos and videos, as well as playing music and videos, but it does not support traditional phone or video calls.
Among these, the primary purpose of the camera is not merely to take photos, but to provide visual information to Muse, enabling the AI to recognize the user’s surroundings and perform analysis or assistive actions accordingly. Users can also view captured photos and videos directly on the device.
The device can be carried on a wristband, placed in a pocket, or attached to bags and keychains via a lanyard. Insiders refer to it as a "holdable"—a handheld device designed for immediate interaction with AI, rather than a wearable meant for continuous wear.
Charm must be set up and synchronized through the Muse app on an iPhone or Android phone. When two Muse Charm devices are near each other, users can allow them to recognize and interact with each other.
Meta has not yet announced an official price. Bosworth said the company is still finalizing details such as pricing and mobile network plans. According to sources familiar with the matter, the price may fall within the range of smartwatches.
Muse enters the Meta hardware ecosystem via the App
Charm was not the only hardware move Meta made around Muse that day. The company also announced that it will gradually integrate Muse into Meta smart glasses over the coming weeks and add a programmable "action button" to the third-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses, allowing users to launch Muse directly with a button press.
Meta has also launched the Ray-Ban Meta Audio without a camera, starting at $349, with shipments beginning on October 3; the third-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with a camera start at $449. Meta states that by the end of this year, smart glasses under the Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Meta brands will offer over 100 styles.
This enabled Muse to rapidly expand from a mobile app to smart glasses and standalone handheld devices. Shortly after Meta launched Muse two weeks ago, the app quickly rose to the top of the Apple App Store rankings. Data provided by Sensor Tower to CBS News shows that, two weeks after launch, Muse has surpassed 2.5 million cumulative downloads; during the same period, ChatGPT had approximately 3.1 million global downloads, while Claude had around 200,000.
Muse is not a traditional chatbot. It can browse the web, make phone calls, shop, and handle other tasks on behalf of users. Meta recently announced partnerships with companies such as Shopify, PayPal, Expedia, and Instacart to integrate additional shopping, payment, and travel services into Muse.
However, Meta does not view Charm as the primary hardware entry point for Muse. Bosworth explicitly stated that the company expects significantly more users to access Muse via smartphones and smart glasses in the future than through the standalone Charm device. The first-generation product is primarily targeted at existing Muse users who have already developed usage habits, serving more as a hardware market test.
“This is an exploration, a classic v0 version,” Bosworth said, noting that Meta wants to first observe how users engage with the product before determining its future direction. The company has not disclosed sales targets for Charm, but if the first version gains market acceptance, it is already considering developing subsequent versions.