Meta had plenty to announce at Meta Connect, but Mark Zuckerberg saved one of the biggest surprises for the end: the Muse Charm, a small wearable device built specifically around the company's new Muse AI agent.
The Charm is designed to give Muse a physical presence outside your phone or computer. Rather than pulling out an app every time you want to interact with Meta's AI, the idea is that Muse can stay with you throughout the day, giving the agent access to more of the context surrounding whatever you're doing.
It's an ambitious idea, particularly as AI companies all seem to have something similar in the works as they race to figure out what comes after the chatbot. But if Meta was hoping people would immediately embrace the prospect of carrying around a dedicated Muse device, Tom's Guide readers have thoughts.
We shared the Muse Charm announcement on Instagram, and more than 400 comments later, I went through the responses to see what people are saying.
The short version? Let's call the reception frosty.
Readers immediately saw a surveillance device
The most-liked response managed to sum up much of the reaction in only two words: "Surveillance Tamagotchi."
That comment picked up 537 likes, considerably more than any other response I found, and variations on the same idea appeared throughout the comments.
"People clapping for an AI Tamagotchi ," wrote one commenter, picking up 267 likes.
Another reader called it "an AI ankle monitor without a court order!", earning 191 likes, while another wrote, "Great another spy wearable solution for Meta!" That one received 102 likes.
Then there was perhaps the most elaborate version:
"Hey another cute mass surveillance tool for the tyrannical state that you pay for with your own money. Genius." It received another 39 likes.
We don't know Muse Charm presents a greater privacy risk than other devices people already carry around every day, such as Looki, Bee from Amazon, and the now defunct Humane Pin. And it's worth separating people's perception of a product from what the hardware actually does.
But perception matters when you're trying to convince people to wear something powered by AI, and our readers clearly aren't giving Meta the benefit of the doubt.
Combined with "Surveillance Tamagotchi," it's probably safe to say Meta has an unofficial nickname for its new hardware whether it wanted one or not.
There's something revealing about the comparison, too. Tamagotchis were designed to demand your attention throughout the day. Muse Charm is obviously a very different product, but Meta's pitch similarly imagines an AI that becomes a persistent presence rather than something you deliberately open, use and close.
For some readers, apparently, that's slightly unsettling. And then there's the ghost of the Humane AI Pin
Anyone who followed the short-lived AI hardware boom probably knew this comparison was coming.
"Isn't this what the ex apple guy launched and it was a flop and the company closed down? Humane AI pin?" one reader asked. The comment received 60 likes.
It's not an unreasonable connection...
The Humane AI Pin was one of the highest-profile attempts to create dedicated consumer AI hardware rather than simply putting AI into a smartphone. Its failure has subsequently become something of a warning for every company attempting the same basic proposition: convincing consumers that AI is compelling enough to justify another device.
One reader was even less optimistic about Meta's chances, writing:
"Will be as successful as the Metaverse." That one received 44 likes. Ouch.
Some people actually like it
Scrolling through hundreds of responses wasn't entirely an exercise in finding creative ways to call Muse Charm surveillance hardware.
There were people who seemed genuinely excited.
"BEST THING EVER ," wrote one. Could be sarcasm though.
Another offered "looks cool ," while a third went with a simple "Good."
And...that's pretty much the gist of the positive comments I found.
It's obviously impossible to extrapolate overall consumer demand from the comments beneath a single Instagram post. People who dislike a product may also be considerably more motivated to comment than someone who thinks it looks interesting.
Still, the contrast was hard to miss. The negative responses weren't just more numerous; readers were writing paragraphs explaining why they didn't want this thing.
Bottom line: Meta may have a bigger challenge ahead
What stood out most after reading through more than 400 comments is that readers were debating whether they want an always-available Meta AI device around them in the first place. That's a much harder objection to solve with better specs like battery life.
Muse Charm isn't even on sale yet, so there's plenty we still don't know about how useful it will be in everyday life or even how much it costs. Meta could ultimately demonstrate that a dedicated Muse device offers something genuinely different from pulling out a phone and opening an AI app.
For now, though, Tom's Guide readers have delivered their first verdict. And "Surveillance Tamagotchi" is going to be awfully hard to beat.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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