On September 23 local time, Meta announced several AI devices at the Connect conference. Its personal AI agent Muse almost ran through the entire one-hour keynote speech. Zuckerberg emphasized that the company's goal is "to make the future belong to everyone," and expects Muse to become a super intelligence used by billions of people in the future. Technology media The Verge pointed out that the clear trend of this conference is that Meta is combining AI, smart glasses, and VR hardware, while discussions about the "metaverse" have significantly decreased.

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Multiple Glasses Released, the Version Without Camera Focuses on Privacy

On the hardware side, Meta launched its first audio smart glasses without a camera, Ray-Ban Meta Audio Glasses, with a starting price of $349. It cannot take photos of the surroundings, representing a new attempt by the company to address privacy concerns. This pair of glasses weighs about 43 grams, supports listening to music, podcasts, calls, and audio operations with an AI assistant. One charge can last up to 12 hours, making it the smartest glasses with the longest battery life so far, and with a charging case, it can provide an additional 48 hours of power.

The Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) released at the same time starts at $449, featuring a thinner design and a more sun-glasses-like appearance, with customizable operation buttons. It has a maximum battery life of 9 hours, equipped with a 12-megapixel camera and a 6-microphone array, and Meta claims it can reduce over 90% background noise. Meta has also expanded its product line and lowered prices, such as the Meta Adventurer, which will start at $249 from now on. The company stated that by the end of 2026, the three product lines of Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Meta Glasses will offer more than 100 AI glass models in total.

Another major focus is the lightweight VR device Meta VR Glasses: its structure is more like regular glasses, consisting of the glasses themselves and a computing device that can be put into a pocket. It weighs only 100 grams, about one-fifth the weight of the 2023 Quest 3 headset. It is expected to launch in spring 2027, starting at $1,299. Zuckerberg briefly demonstrated the standalone Muse terminal, Muse Charm - resembling an electronic pet Tamagotchi, with a small screen, microphone, and speaker, which will be available by the end of the year, but its price and specifications have not been announced yet.

Muse Integrated Into Glasses, Also Has Its Own Email Address

On the software side, just weeks after launching Muse, Meta announced its integration into smart glasses. In the future, users can activate it by saying "Hey Muse." Demonstrations showed that Muse can guide fitness, record diet, provide shopping help based on observed products, and understand the surrounding environment. Muse will also have its own email address, allowing users to communicate with it via email; the Mac version of the Muse App will also be able to operate the user's computer, meaning it is becoming a comprehensive intelligent agent capable of calling on computer processing tasks.

Data from analytics firm Sensor Tower shows that as of September 21, Muse, launched on September 8, topped the free charts on the US App Store and Google Play, driving Meta's stock price to rise sharply. Currently, Muse is still free, and Zuckerberg said that in the future, it will charge "a small fee" for transactions to monetize it. Additionally, Meta will add hearing enhancement features for people with mild to moderate hearing loss to smart glasses, to be released later this year. It can be accessed through a Meta One subscription or purchased for $149. On the 23rd, Meta's stock rose 1.02%, closing at $744.1, with a market value of $1.9 trillion. CNBC analysis suggests that Meta is entering an independent AI hardware market that has seen many failed cases, such as Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1, and the future of Muse Charm remains to be tested.