Meta has announced major updates at Connect 2026, including a smarter Muse assistant, over 100 new styles of AI glasses, and VR glasses.
The Meta Connect 2026 event is held at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. (Image Credit: Meta)
Hyderabad: Meta has unveiled a wide range of new products and updates at its Connect 2026 event. Held at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, the event showed a strong focus on personal Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents and wearable technology. Meta says its long-term goal is to make advanced AI accessible to everyone, through devices people can carry with them throughout the day, rather than being tied to a screen.
At the centre of the announcements is Muse, Meta’s AI assistant, which is receiving major new features, more partner connections, and an advanced model that brings it to life visually for the first time. Muse will now also work beyond phones and desktops, extending to Meta’s AI glasses so users can reach their assistant throughout the day.
Alongside this, Meta introduced a new range of AI glasses across Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Meta Glasses, including its first-ever audio glasses. By the end of the year, the company plans to offer more than 100 different styles of AI glasses in total, covering a wide range of use cases and price points. Meta also revealed its new Virtual Reality (VR) Glasses, a lightweight wearable device offering a cinema-like viewing experience alongside full spatial computing capabilities.
Muse becomes more capable and more accessible
Meta says Muse can now hold real-time voice conversations, allowing users to have long, detailed discussions while the assistant continues working in the background. The company explains that Muse is different from typical voice assistants, since it can carry out actions even while still talking to the user. People can also customise how the AI assistant sounds simply by describing what they want, whether that means a faster or slower voice, or even a specific accent.
A new feature called Muse Realtime Avatar will turn Muse’s voice into an expressive, interactive digital avatar, developed by Meta Superintelligence Labs. In the coming months, Muse will also become available directly on Meta’s AI glasses, activated hands-free by simply saying the assistant’s name.
Importantly, Muse will be able to act on what a person is currently looking at, meaning users won’t need to describe what’s in front of them. For instance, someone could ask about a product on a shop shelf, a flier on a wall, or a long list of school supplies, and Muse would be able to take direct action based on what it sees.
Muse is also getting its own email address, allowing it to complete tasks independently or simply giving users another way to communicate with it. On Mac computers, Muse can now operate other applications directly, with the user’s permission. This means people can step away from their computer while Muse continues working through a list of tasks on their behalf.
Meta is also significantly expanding what Muse can do through new shopping and productivity partnerships. The assistant launched with dozens of retail partners and access to the full Shopify catalogue. Other retailers include:
- Walmart
- Best Buy
- American Eagle Outfitters
- DICK’S Sporting Goods
- Fanatics
- Gap
- Michael Kors
- Sephora
- Ulta
- Wayfair
Purchase payments can be made through Shop Pay and PayPal. Moreover, Muse will enable users to plan their travel
For work-related tasks, Muse is being connected to tools such as Notion, Granola, GitHub, and Box, with Meta confirming that more partners will be announced soon. Muse remains available through its dedicated app, WhatsApp, the web, and the recently launched Mac desktop version, which can already manage messages, locate old files, and help with everyday tasks.
Muse Charm: A new pocket-sized device
Meta also introduced Muse Charm, a small and playful device designed specifically for talking to and interacting with Muse. It combines the power of Muse with a state-of-the-art real-time voice model, fitted into a device compact enough to carry in a pocket. The company says more details about Muse Charm will be shared later this year.
Meta revealed its first-ever line of audio glasses, combining built-in AI with open-ear audio in every pair. The new Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses are designed for people who want all-day wearability, combining the functionality of earbuds with AI features, all within classic Ray-Ban styling. Meta describes them as its slimmest and lightest frames yet. They are available in two new styles, Clubmaster and Burbank. The Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses offer 12 hours of battery life and are compatible with a wide range of prescription lenses.
The company is also expanding its broader AI glasses portfolio, with a goal of offering more than 100 different styles by the end of the year. The next generation of Ray-Ban Meta glasses is referred to as Gen 3. It will feature a slimmer and more comfortable design, a dedicated action button for quicker access to Meta AI and the longest battery life of any Ray-Ban Meta model so far. Two new frame shapes are also joining the range: Aviator, one of the most recognisable frame designs in the world, and Zena, a bold, modern cat-eye design.
New Meta Glasses designs were also announced, including a new Ivory colourway created in collaboration with Kylie Jenner, as well as Meta’s first-ever collaboration with international icon LISA. Two additional frame shapes, Capri and Nova, are being introduced to fit a wider variety of face shapes, alongside a more affordable Meta Adventurer model and a limited-edition Meta Fury style, which will only be available at Meta Lab store locations at launch.
Meta Glasses can now also be personalised through a new Mix & Match programme in the United States (US), allowing customers to choose their preferred combinations of frame, lens, and case colours. The glasses are additionally expanding into new international markets, launching today, September 24, in Singapore, South Korea, and Mexico. Availability of the Mix & Match programme in Brazil and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected soon.
Meanwhile, the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 Optics range will receive three new colour options this autumn. They include two limited-time seasonal shades, Blayzer Optics Shiny Brick Brown and Shiny Transparent Ocean Blue, along with a limited-time return of the Transparent Dark Olive colour for the Scriber Optics style. The Meta Ray-Ban Display is also becoming available to order online for the first time, going on sale today in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). Pre-orders open today in France, Italy, and Germany ahead of wider availability from October 13.
New features for Meta AI glasses
Alongside the new lineup, Meta also announced a broad set of new software features intended to help users stay present in their surroundings rather than constantly looking down at a screen. These updates are expected to roll out gradually over the coming months.
One major addition is an onboard hearing assistance feature, which has received FDA clearance. Designed for adults aged 18 and above with mild to moderate hearing loss, the feature can be set up at home in just a few minutes, without requiring a clinic visit or prescription.
It will launch in the US later this year, priced at $149.99, and will also be available through a Meta One subscription. Meta is also giving all AI glasses wearers greater control over audio, including a new balance feature to shift sound between ears, or a mono audio option that routes all sound to a single side.
Other upcoming features include hands-free guided workouts for running and cycling, nutrition tracking with personalised insights, and shopping tools that can identify products, prices, and reviews, allowing users to set alerts or make purchases using only their voice. Meta AI glasses will also become the first consumer devices capable of capturing video in Dolby Atmos, recording in true 360-degree spatial sound so that playback feels genuinely immersive. Navigation is also being redesigned to sound more natural, offering directions based on nearby landmarks rather than street names, such as suggesting a turn at a supermarket instead of a specific road.
Additional personalisation options, including custom audio settings, custom gestures, and smarter visual AI, will also be introduced, giving users greater control over how their glasses function. Later this month, Meta Ray-Ban Display users in the US and Canada will also be able to request cycling and public transport directions using voice commands.
Meta also revealed its VR Glasses, a device designed to combine a cinema, a workspace, and a gaming console into a single wearable form factor. The VR Glasses will become available in Spring 2027, priced at $1,299.99.
The Meta VR Glasses weigh about 100 grams, which is said to be around five times lighter than the Meta Quest. It features a 5K Infinite Display built using micro-OLED panels, along with a two-part design that shifts the battery and processing components into a separate puck, which can be clipped to a belt, pocket, or bag, keeping the main headset lightweight and comfortable.
The VR Glasses also support a multi-panel virtual display with surface input built-in, allowing users to turn any table or desk into a functional keyboard and touchpad. Users can create a large virtual screen, or several at once, from almost anywhere, and can even connect other devices to extend their screens further. Instead of using handheld controllers, eye tracking and hand gestures are used to make putting input feel more natural.
Users will also be able to ask Meta AI to perform a variety of tasks, such as rearranging their virtual workspace or streaming content through apps including Disney+, YouTube, HBO Max, and Prime Video.
Meta additionally debuted a new feature called Hologram, described as a photorealistic, real-time digital representation of a person that allows others to see their face and expressions clearly during a call. Setting it up only requires a brief self-capture using a smartphone. Hologram will be available on Meta VR Glasses when they launch next spring, and will begin an early rollout in the US through WhatsApp for Meta Ray-Ban Display users in the coming months.
New games for Meta VR Glasses and Quest, including a major Beat Saber overhaul
The popular VR game Beat Saber will receive its biggest update yet next spring, arriving on both Meta VR Glasses and Meta Quest. The update will include the game’s first visual refresh and new logo in nearly a decade. Its headline feature, called Flux, introduces a new way to play built around advanced hand-tracking technology, letting players use their hands as weapons as they channel energy between their palms to slice notes and build bonus points.
Meta also confirmed a wave of new games designed specifically for its VR platforms, many of which are built from the ground up to support hand-tracking, meaning they can be played entirely without controllers on Meta VR Glasses. New titles heading to the platform include Cardmada, Dice Throne Digital, Dragon Grove, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney-Dual Destinies, Supernatural, Tetris Effect: Mixed Realities, and Two Point Hospital.
