The news
Meta Platforms (META) used its Meta Connect 2026 event on September 23 to announce its Muse personal AI agent for smart glasses, launch new Ray-Ban models and preview $1,299.99 VR glasses, betting that wearables will become a main way people reach AI assistants.
Meta said Muse will arrive on its AI glasses in the coming months, handling voice requests, recognizing items in the wearer's view and finishing tasks in the background. It announced new Muse connectors with retailers including Walmart, Best Buy, Sephora, Ulta and Wayfair, payment services Shop Pay and PayPal, and work tools including Notion, GitHub and Box. Meta said an Expedia connector is coming soon, and TechCrunch reported that Instacart is also on the way. Meta also teased Muse Charm, a small device that houses the agent, with details due later in 2026.
On hardware, Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 went on sale the same day starting at $449, with battery life of up to nine hours, according to Engadget. Ray-Ban Meta Audio, a camera-free model built around music, calls and the AI assistant, costs $349 and ships October 13. Engadget said a lower-cost Meta Adventurer pair starts at $249 and ships October 23, and that the Meta Ray-Ban Display costs $799 in the U.S., with European availability from October 13.
Meta VR Glasses, due in spring 2027 at $1,299.99, weigh about 100 grams and connect by tether to a compute puck, according to Meta. The company pitched them for entertainment and work, with a private multi-screen workspace, full-color passthrough, the ability to turn any flat surface into a keyboard and touchpad, and hologram-style calling in apps such as WhatsApp and Zoom. 9to5Google reported that the glasses run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Reality Elite chip.
Meta also said FDA-cleared hearing enhancement software for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss will launch in the U.S. later in 2026 for $149.99, eligible for health savings and flexible spending accounts, or included with a Meta One subscription. Meta said it aims to offer more than 100 AI glasses styles across its brands by the end of 2026.
The numbers
- Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 starting price
- $449
- Ray-Ban Meta Audio price (per Engadget)
- $349
- Meta VR Glasses price
- $1,299.99
- Hearing enhancement software
- $149.99
- AI glasses styles targeted by end of 2026
- More than 100
Why CEOs should care
For retail and consumer brands, Muse connectors are a new storefront. When an agent can recognize a product in view and complete a purchase through a partner, the brands wired into that agent gain an edge over those that are not. Ask your e-commerce and partnerships teams whether you should seek a Muse integration, what data Meta would receive and how disputes over agent-made orders would be handled. Amazon began blocking Meta's shopping agent earlier in September and told Mashable it had asked Meta to drop Amazon from Muse, a sign retailers are split on the model.
For CIOs and CISOs, camera-equipped glasses are becoming mainstream at consumer prices. Update policies on recording in offices, labs and customer sites, and decide whether camera-free models such as Ray-Ban Meta Audio are acceptable where cameras are not. For the VR Glasses, ask how a private workspace handles corporate data and whether the devices can be enrolled in your management tools before approving them for work.
For HR and benefits leaders, the hearing feature is notable. Software-based hearing support that is FDA-cleared and eligible for health savings and flexible spending accounts could lower costs for employees with mild hearing loss. Benefits teams should check how it fits existing hearing coverage before the U.S. launch.
The bigger picture
Meta is trying to own the interface through which people reach AI, not just the model behind it. Glasses give its Muse agent a constant view of the wearer's world, while connectors give it the ability to act. That strategy is already causing friction: Amazon began blocking Muse from shopping on its site in September, and an Amazon spokesperson told Mashable the company had asked Meta to drop Amazon from Muse. On September 28, Meta launched an enterprise platform built around the same agent. Rivals in AI assistants and devices will have to answer both the hardware and the commerce pieces.
What’s next
Watch for the Muse rollout on glasses in the coming months, the list of retailers that join or refuse its connectors, first reviews of Ray-Ban Meta Audio after October 13, and developer and enterprise-management details for the VR Glasses ahead of their spring 2027 launch.
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