Meta unveiled a full lineup of AI-powered hardware at Meta Connect 2026, from $249 smart glasses to a $1,299.99 VR headset, all built around its new Muse personal AI agent. The rollout puts Meta in direct competition with Apple across the wearables and spatial computing market.
Meta showed off a wide range of AI-powered hardware at Meta Connect on September 23, 2026, in Menlo Park, California. Every device shared one thread: Muse, the personal AI agent Meta had launched only weeks earlier.
A full lineup, from $249 to $1,299.99
The lineup spans a wide price range. At the entry point sits the Meta Adventurer, priced from $249, widening the glasses lineup with a lower-cost option for newcomers.
Next 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, with Meta saying the new version brings a refreshed design and better battery life.
The headline act: 5K VR glasses
The Meta VR Glasses weigh about 100 grams and feature a 5K micro-OLED display, aimed 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 stays light. That device is expected to launch in spring 2027 for $1,299.99.
Rounding out the lineup 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.
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. The company also leaned into fashion, saying it plans to offer more than 100 style options by year-end across its Ray-Ban, Oakley and Meta brands.
The Ray-Ban line gives Meta a base to build on: its smart glasses have reportedly sold millions of units, a rare hardware win after years of expensive experimentation. Building on that base, Meta is now in direct competition with Apple in a category both companies 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 in December will offer the first real read on demand. VR Glasses pre-sale activity ahead of the spring 2027 launch could show whether the $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.
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