Meta announces camera-free glasses, dedicated Muse AI gadget, more

Meta announced today a series of AI-powered devices, including the Muse Charm, a palm-sized gadget designed specifically for its new Muse AI assistant. Here are the details. Meta kicked off its Meta Connect 2026 event today, its yearly showcase for new AI technologies, wearables, and VR products. Last year, the biggest announcement was the Meta Ray-Ban Display, the company’s first smart glasses with a built-in display that can show messages, navigation, Meta AI responses, and more. At the time, Meta’s AI-powered glasses lineup was already gaining significant traction, with Meta and EssilorLuxottica going on to sell more than 7 million units for the year. Since then, Meta’s camera-equipped glasses have faced growing scrutiny over privacy and ethics, as there has been no shortage of discussions involving privacy, ethics, and the general pushback on AI. Today, Meta announced the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, its first pair of camera-free smart glasses, which starts at $349 and will be available beginning October 13. The Ray-Ban Meta Audio retains features such as music and podcast playback, calls, and live translation, offering many of the same audio features as Meta’s camera-equipped glasses. They also support Muse, Meta’s recently launched personal AI agent. That said, Meta also announced the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) tonight, featuring a slimmer design, up to nine hours of battery life, and a new action button, while retaining the 12MP camera and 3K video recording introduced with the previous generation. The new action button can be customized in the Meta AI app to provide one-touch access to Meta AI or other features, such as live translation. The Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) is available today, starting at $449. In tonight’s event, the company also announced the Meta VR Glasses, a roughly 100-gram VR headset designed to look and feel more like a pair of glasses. The device features what Meta calls a “5K Infinite Display built on micro-OLED panels,” built-in Meta AI, eye and hand tracking, and a separate pocketable puck that handles processing, battery, and storage. Meta is pitching the VR Glasses as a personal cinema, gaming device, and workspace. They are also the first IMAX Enhanced-certified VR device, with support for 3D movies and immersive live sports. Alongside the Meta VR Glasses, the company also introduced a new hologram feature that can create a photorealistic avatar that reflects a user’s real-time expressions and reactions during video calls. Meta says that a version of the feature is also coming to Meta Ray-Ban Display, where users can create a digital version of their face for hands-free video calls, beginning with WhatsApp. The Meta VR Glasses will go on sale in spring 2027 for $1,299.99. Rounding up tonight’s glassware news, Meta also expanded its own Meta Glasses lineup with two new styles, Capri and Nova, a new collection designed with LISA, and the $249 Meta Adventurer, its most affordable pair of smart glasses yet. The company also introduced a limited-edition Meta Fury model and a new Ivory colorway for its Kylie Jenner collaboration. At tonight’s event, Meta also announced the Muse Charm, a palm-sized device built specifically around its recently launched Muse personal AI agent. Meta launched Muse earlier this month, and the app has since risen to the No. 1 spot on both the U.S. App Store and Google Play. The Muse Charm, which Meta refers to as a “holdable,” features a roughly 2-inch OLED touchscreen with a customizable Muse character at the center of the interface. Users can change its appearance, outfits, voice, and other attributes, and interact with Muse directly through the device. The device also includes front- and rear-facing cameras, speakers, microphones, 5G connectivity, and a USB-C port. The cameras can capture photos and videos, but Bloomberg reports they are primarily intended to provide Muse with visual context for analysis and AI-assisted actions, rather than to serve as traditional cameras. Users set up and sync the Charm through the Muse app on iPhone or Android. Two Charm devices can also recognize and interact with each other when placed nearby. Meta plans to begin selling the Muse Charm in December. The company has not yet announced a price, but Bloomberg reports that it is expected to cost roughly as much as a smartwatch. What do you make of Meta’s announcements? Let us know in the comments. Worth checking out on Amazon Apple Watch Series 12 Apple Watch Ultra 4 AirPods Pro 3 AirPods 5 AirTag (2nd Generation) – 4 Pack MacBook Neo Logitech MX Master 4 FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.