Meta Wants Muse In People’s Pocket. Zuckerberg Just Unveiled A Tiny New AI Device.

Meta is putting its fast-growing Muse assistant into a dedicated piece of hardware, unveiling a keychain-sized device that lets users talk to the AI, show it their surroundings and access it without pulling out a smartphone or wearing smart glasses.

The Muse Charm was introduced during Meta Connect, where CEO Mark Zuckerberg showcased the small handheld device alongside a broader lineup of new glasses and virtual-reality hardware. The device has a screen measuring about 2 inches, a camera and its own 5G connection. The Charm is scheduled to ship in December but the company did not disclose a price.

"We've packed a lot of technology in this little guy," Zuckerberg said during the keynote, adding that the Charm provides another way to interact with Muse for people who are not wearing Meta's glasses. The company also said Muse will eventually be available through its AI glasses.

The hardware debut comes just over two weeks after Meta introduced Muse as a personal AI agent designed to take actions for users rather than simply respond to questions. Muse can handle tasks including sending emails, booking travel, shopping and making phone calls.

Interest in the service has built quickly. Muse recorded more than 2.5 million downloads and reached the top of U.S. app charts within two weeks of its launch. Meta offers a free version along with paid subscription tiers, while the company has continued adding features as it expands the assistant beyond a conventional chatbot.

At Meta Connect, the company introduced live video conversations with Muse, real-time voice interactions with selectable voices and a dedicated email address for each user's agent. Meta also named Walmart, Best Buy, Gap, Sephora and Wayfair among retailers working with Muse. Amazon has taken a different approach, blocking the assistant from accessing and purchasing products through its platform.

Muse's ability to act for users has also brought scrutiny over how those tasks are carried out. Meta has been testing a "human concierge" system in which contractors handle some phone calls initiated through Muse. Some Meta employees raised concerns that the setup could expose personal or sensitive information to contractors. Meta said the trial was intended to gather feedback on safety and privacy before any broader release.

Charm puts Meta into a developing category of dedicated consumer devices built primarily around generative AI. Earlier products from smaller companies struggled to gain widespread adoption, including Humane's AI Pin, which was discontinued after HP acquired parts of the company in 2025.

OpenAI has also committed substantial resources to building its own consumer hardware. The ChatGPT maker acquired io, the hardware company founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and other Apple veterans, in a stock deal valued at roughly $6.5 billion in 2025. OpenAI has provided few details about the resulting product.

OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said in January that the company was working toward showing its first device in the second half of 2026, although he stopped short of specifying its design or saying when consumers would be able to buy it.

Meta, meanwhile, already has an established consumer-hardware business through its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest virtual-reality products. The company used Wednesday's event to expand that lineup further, including audio-focused glasses without a camera and a slimmer VR device.

The audio-only glasses are aimed at people who want voice access to Meta's AI services without a camera built into the frames. The models will start at $349, while Meta also showed updated versions of its existing glasses. A slimmer VR headset priced at $1,299 was also previewed during the event.