Meta surprises with new handheld AI device called Meta Charm 

Adds details on Meta Charm

By Aditya Soni

MENLO PARK, California, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Meta META.O CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a small handheld gadget called Meta Charm for using its new Muse AI assistant in a surprise announcement at its annual device event on Wednesday.

Meta said Charm would be ready to ship for holidays in December, but did not give a price. The AI device is about the size of an Apple AirPods case.

The social media giant also unveiled virtual-reality glasses to use with a VR console and a pair of camera-free smart glasses for daily use, designed to ease the growing privacy backlash against AI devices that can take videos and pictures of people without consent.

Priced at $1,299, the Meta VR Glasses aim to match the capabilities of bulkier and costlier rivals such as Apple's AAPL.O Vision Pro in a device that weighs about as much as a deck of playing cards, a design made possible by moving the battery and processor into a separate puck. They will launch in spring 2027.

Meta is betting the VR device, which looks like a pair of dark wraparound frames and responds to eye, voice and hand gestures, can finally take to the mainstream a category long held back by high prices and heavy headsets that are uncomfortable to wear for hours.

The company also expanded its Muse AI assistant across its smart glasses lineup, adding new capabilities including computer use and integration with retailers and services such as Walmart WMT.O, Best Buy BBY.N and Gap GAP.N.

Meta said Muse would become the primary interface for its glasses, allowing users to shop, make appointments and complete other tasks through voice commands.

But the new camera-free glasses, called Ray-Ban Meta Audio, will still record audio and offer no clear signal to bystanders that recording is underway, unlike its smart glasses with a camera, which flash a light while filming. Critics say dropping the cameras alone may not be enough to ease privacy concerns.

The Meta Audio glasses are the latest made through the company's EssilorLuxottica ESLX.PA tie-up and will ship from October 13 at a starting price of $349, Meta announced at its Connect conference in Menlo Park, California. That is $100 cheaper than the latest version of its Ray-Ban glasses, which continue to have cameras and will come in two new styles, the iconic Aviator and cat-eyed Zena.

Pairing its technology with Luxottica's trendy designs has allowed Meta to take an early lead in the AI device race, where it faces competition from a range of new form factors including pendants, pins and recorders that magnetically attach to phones.

But it has also made the company the focal point of growing concerns about devices that work better the more they see and hear, prompting privacy lawsuits and bans at some UK venues. The outcome of the privacy debate could shape a market that technology firms, including Meta, see as the next major computing platform and a potential replacement for smartphones.

"They are addressing some of the privacy issues, but there is still the ability to kind of misuse audio or record audio without consent. And that is really the key here. This is all about consent," said Jitesh Ubrani, director at market research firm IDC. "Meta needs to figure out a way to warn users they are being recorded, even though it just might be audio only."

Losing the cameras may also blunt demand as capturing photos and video ranks among the most popular features for smart glasses.

"Consumers may ask why they need smart glasses rather than Bluetooth earbuds if the primary experience is limited to voice interaction, microphones and speakers," said Linda Sui, founder of Smart Analytics Global.

Meta, however, said privacy was not the only reason for the audio-only design and that a market exists for smart glasses without cameras. "Audio has been our most popular feature since day one because our glasses give you high-quality sound without closing you off from the world around you," it said.

Losing the cameras has let Meta build its thinnest pair yet, weighing as much as a golf ball, and opened up new designs such as the browline Clubmaster and squared, retro Burbank. It also stretched battery life to 12 hours on a single charge, compared with nine hours on the latest, third-generation Ray-Ban glasses.

(Reporting by Aditya Soni; Editing by Jamie Freed and Rashmi Aich)

((Aditya.Soni@thomsonreuters.com;))