While Meta’s news coverage has been less than positive for the majority of the year, Mark Zuckerberg’s company can hang its hat on one major win so far.

Meta’s recently released AI companion app, Muse from Meta, has garnered a ton of attention—in fact, its popularity has resulted in it taking the #1 spot in the “Top Free Apps” category in the Apple App Store and overtaking its closest rivals ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Claude by Anthropic. Now, the company most known for its association with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Meta Glasses and Meta VR headsets is taking another stab at diving into the physical product market.

While on stage at this year’s Meta Connect conference in Menlo Park, California, Zuckerberg made a major announcement: Meta Muse AI users will get the chance to interact with their new favorite digital assistant through an upcoming device. And to top it all off, it’s coming a lot sooner than we thought.

Say hello to the Muse Charm.

The Muse Charm device was unveiled onstage during Zuckerberg’s Meta Connect presentation. Those in attendance and watching at home were treated to a pocket-sized, keychain-attachable piece of hardware that will give its users a direct connection to their Muse AI assistant without having to access it through the app on their phones.

Just from taking a look at it, the Muse Charm looks to be roughly the same size as your average AirPods case. In a move that should give avid fans of Tamagotchi a wave of nostalgia, the Muse Charm places its animated avatar on a miniature 2-inch OLED touchscreen that can be activated by simply tapping the screen to activate its fingerprint sensor and talking to it. The device’s other features include speakers, microphones, front- and rear-facing cameras and built-in 5G connectivity.

The camera integration stands out as one of the Muse Charm’s most impressive features, as the AI assistant inside it will be able to see what you’re pointing it at and be able to identify products, read signs and analyze assorted real-world items in real time.

Among the many tasks the Muse Charm is capable of handling are sending emails, booking travel, organizing tasks, developing plans, coordinating resources, turning saved Instagram recipes into grocery lists, planning dinner parties, remembering relevant preferences and interacting with connected services. Speaking of connected services, Meta’s Muse AI agent has partnered with several prominent companies, including Google (Gmail & Drive), Shopify, OpenTable, Ticketmaster, PayPal, Lync, and many more. This X thread showcases the full gamut of Muse AI connected services that should work in conjunction with the Muse Charm once it releases.

The Muse Charm is said to begin shipping sometime in December, just in time for the holiday season. No details about its official price, battery life or complete hardware specifications have been announced yet.

Zuckerberg’s comments from his Meta Connect presentation point to Meta recognizing the need to offer physical products that give users a frictionless way to interact with AI. "It is actually quite clear personal superintelligence will not only come ⁠first; it will be much bigger and more important," Zuckerberg stated. "So we have shifted our focus to building the best devices ​for personal superintelligence," he said, adding that Muse would also soon be available across Meta's smart glasses lineup.

I remember when similar AI companion devices like Humane's AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 drew negative reactions. Will Meta’s Muse Charm be any different from those previous failed attempts? Fingers crossed that Meta learns from its miniature AI device predecessors' errors and emerges with another major winner in the AI space. With a connection to Meta's broader AI, social, messaging and hardware ecosystem right out of the gate, the Muse Charm may just have everything it needs to succeed.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok.

• I used Siri AI to plan my entire weekend — and it did way more than I expected
• I tested ChatGPT-6 vs Claude Opus 5.5 with 5 everyday prompts — it wasn’t even close
• I tried Apple’s new at-home wellness assessment in iOS 27 — and gained valuable insights into my flexibility and balance

Elton Jones covers AI for Tom’s Guide, and tests all the latest models, from ChatGPT to Gemini to Claude to see which tools perform best — and how they can improve everyday productivity.

He is also an experienced tech writer who has covered video games, mobile devices, headsets, and now artificial intelligence for over a decade. Since 2011, his work has appeared in publications including The Christian Post, Complex, TechRadar, Heavy, and ONE37pm, with a focus on clear, practical analysis.

Today, Elton focuses on making AI more accessible by breaking down complex topics into useful, easy-to-understand insights for a wide range of readers.