Meta Reveals Their Tamagotchi-Style AI Gadget, Muse Charm
Meta has a new AI gadget that looks like a modernized Tamagotchi. At Meta Connect in Menlo Park, California, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Muse Charm, a palm-sized device that gives the company's Muse AI assistant a physical home outside phones, computers, and smart glasses.
Charm has a roughly two-inch display centered around an animated Muse character that users can personalize with different appearances, outfits, voices, and other traits. But instead of keeping a digital pet alive, users get a pocket-sized AI companion designed to answer questions, understand its surroundings, and help with everyday tasks.
A fingerprint sensor in the corner lets users start talking with Muse without pulling out their phone and opening an app. Zuckerberg presented that quick access was one of the main reasons for giving the AI its own device.
Despite its small size, Charm packs in a surprising amount of hardware. Cameras on the front and back can provide Muse with visual context, allowing the AI to see what the user is seeing. The device also includes microphones, speakers, music and video playback, USB-C charging, and built-in 5G connectivity.
Meta has also designed Charm to be carried in several ways. It can attach to a wrist strap, clip onto a bag or keychain, or simply sit in a pocket. One version features a translucent shell that exposes some of the electronics inside, similar to some Game Boy models. When two Charms are placed close together, they can recognize and interact with each other, adding a social element to the device.
Charm came together unusually quickly. Meta reportedly began exploring the idea in March and developed the device in roughly nine months through its new design lab, led by former Apple interface design chief Alan Dye, alongside the company's Superintelligence AI group.
Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has characterized Charm as an experiment rather than the center of Meta's AI hardware plans. The company expects far more people to access Muse through smartphones and its growing range of AI glasses.
Meta has not announced a price, although reports suggest Charm could fall somewhere within smartwatch territory. Cellular fees have not been finalized either, and Zuckerberg said the company is still settling on some of the components, but Meta plans to have Muse Charm ready to ship in time for the December holiday season.
The timing follows the recent launch of Muse on iPhone, Android, and the web. Meta is also expanding the assistant with real-time voice conversations, live video capabilities, custom voices, and other features, while preparing to bring Muse to its AI glasses.
Charm now gives Meta another place to put that AI. The bigger question is whether people want another gadget in their pockets when Muse already works on devices they own. Its Tamagotchi-like personality could help it stand out, but its price, battery life, and usefulness outside the novelty of having a tiny AI companion may ultimately decide whether Charm becomes a holiday hit or simply one of Meta's stranger hardware experiments.
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