Meta Platforms unveils new AI hardware lineup at Meta Connect 2026

Meta Platforms wants its AI to live on your face, in your pocket and, eventually, in front of your eyes in 5K.

At Meta Connect on September 23, 2026, in Menlo Park, California, the company showed off a wider range of AI-powered hardware. The common thread was Muse, the personal AI agent Meta launched only weeks before the event.

The lineup, from cheap to not cheap

Meta brought a full menu of devices, and the price range was wide enough to cover most budgets.

At the entry point sits the Meta Adventurer, priced from $249. It widens the glasses lineup and gives newcomers a lower-cost way in.

Next up is the Ray-Ban Meta Audio, a camera-free pair of glasses weighing roughly 43 grams. Pricing starts at $349, and shipping is expected to begin on October 13, 2026.

The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 is available now, starting at $449. Meta says the new version brings a refreshed design and better battery life.

Then there is the headline act. The Meta VR Glasses weigh about 100 grams and feature a 5K micro-OLED display, aimed squarely at spatial computing and immersive experiences. A separate compute puck, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Reality Elite chip, handles the processing so the headset itself can stay light. That device is expected to launch in spring 2027 for $1,299.99.

Rounding things out is the Muse Charm, a small handheld device that puts Meta’s AI agent in a pocket-sized package. It is expected to ship by December 2026, with more details still to come.

Why Muse is the real product

Meta is positioning Muse as a proactive assistant that can manage tasks, handle voice conversations and offer help based on context.

Meta also leaned hard into fashion. The company said it plans to offer more than 100 style options by year-end across its Ray-Ban, Oakley and Meta brands.

Background: building on the Ray-Ban bet

Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have reportedly sold millions of units, giving the company a rare hardware win after years of expensive experimentation.

What this means for Meta, Apple and the wearables race

With a dedicated spatial computing device and a growing AI wearables catalog, Meta is now in direct competition with Apple in a category both companies clearly want to own.

A Motley Fool analysis of Meta’s hardware push argued that history suggests Apple investors should not be worried.

Early shipments of the Ray-Ban Meta Audio in October and the Muse Charm by December offer the first real read on demand. The VR Glasses pre-sale activity and consumer reaction ahead of the spring 2027 launch could indicate whether a $1,299.99 price tag lands or stalls.

Meta’s emphasis on camera-free models suggests the company knows that face-mounted cameras still make some people uneasy.