Meta Connect 2026: The biggest news and announcements

# Meta Connect 2026: The biggest news and announcements Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/998480/meta-connect-2026-biggest-news-announcements](https://www.theverge.com/tech/998480/meta-connect-2026-biggest-news-announcements) It’s about time for Meta Connect, the company’s annual product launch event\. This year, given the company’s major focus on AI and wearables like smart glasses, it seems likely that we’ll see updates from CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his team on those categories\. The company has been facing significant scrutiny because of how some users have been covertly recording other people using the glasses, meaning that one of the biggest announcements of the show could be its[rumored camera\-free pair](https://www.theverge.com/tech/996138/meta-luna-ray-ban-smart-glasses-camera-free-connect)\. Connect has also traditionally been a venue for updates on Meta’s VR hardware and software\. While the company has[scaled back](https://www.theverge.com/tech/896322/meta-is-shutting-down-its-vr-metaverse-on-june-15th)its VR ambitions, a recent leak seemingly revealing some kind of[unannounced mixed reality glasses](https://www.theverge.com/tech/994055/meta-project-phoenix-headset-leak)could indicate that Meta will show off new immersive headwear technology during the event\. Zuckerberg’s keynote is scheduled to begin at 7PM ET / 4PM PT on Wednesday, September 23rd\. Follow along with all of our coverage right here\. -  ## [Meta is making a standalone Muse AI gadget](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999750/muse-charm-meta-ai-hardware)   Meta is building a dedicated hardware device for its new Muse AI agent\. The product, called Muse Charm, was briefly shown off by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the end of tonight’s Meta Connect presentation\. It looks almost like a chunky smartwatch without the strap — just a big screen, plus a little lanyard for carrying the device around\. The Muse Charm has a fingerprint sensor on the top right corner that you can press to activate and begin speaking to the agent\. There appears to be a small camera on the device as well, plus what looks like at least three holes for microphones on the front\. Zuckerberg said you don’t have to unlock a phone or open an app to use the Charm, but he didn’t share how it’s actually connecting to Meta’s servers\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999750/muse-charm-meta-ai-hardware) -  ## [Meta Connect 2026: The 7 biggest announcements](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999593/meta-connect-2026-everything-announced)   Image: Meta Meta announced a slate of new wearables during its annual Meta Connect showcase on Wednesday\. The star of the event was the new Meta VR Glasses, which pack virtual reality tech into a lightweight smart glasses\-style frame with a tethered puck\. Meta also announced new pairs of screen\-free smart glasses, along with some new AI features and style and frame options\. You can catch up on all the highlights from this year’s Meta Connect below\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999593/meta-connect-2026-everything-announced) -  Soon, you’ll be able to rent or buy movies right on your Quest headset\. Meta is promising that “hundreds” of movies will be available “later this year” in the US, with “thousands of titles available internationally” when the new Meta VR Glasses launch in spring 2027\. -  ## [Meta’s next VR device isn’t a headset — it’s glasses](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999517/meta-vr-glasses-connect-2026-hands-on)   Meta is launching new VR hardware: a pair of glasses\. The new Meta VR Glasses sit on your ears like a typical pair of glasses instead of being strapped over your head, but they still have immersive displays for watching movies, playing games, and getting work done\. Imagine a pair of hefty black sunglasses with blacked\-out lenses on the outside, but the components of a typical VR headset distributed between the device on your head and a computing puck in your pocket\. The idea is to give you a way to experience VR in a much lighter and more approachable form factor than Vision Pro or Meta Quest\-style headsets\. I got to try the VR Glasses at Meta’s campus this week, and as Meta walked me through some familiar VR demos like watching content, playing a game, and working from multiple screens, I was impressed by how much*lighter*the whole experience felt\. Some of that was about the literal weight, as the glasses come in at just 100g, far less than the Quest 3’s 515g\. But there was also something lighter in a more intangible way: the glasses form factor made the headset seem like something I could easily jump in and out of instead of being a whole cumbersome commitment with big head straps\. It felt like a lightweight Vision Pro, and is perhaps a better execution of some of what Apple wanted to do with that device\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999517/meta-vr-glasses-connect-2026-hands-on) -  ## [Muse is coming to Meta smart glasses](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999673/meta-connect-2026-muse-glasses-features)   Image: Meta Just a couple of weeks after[launching Muse](https://www.theverge.com/tech/993391/meta-muse-ai-hands-on), Meta announced that it’s “working on” bringing the agent to its smart glasses, including the new glasses it unveiled at Meta Connect\. Users will be able to activate Muse from their glasses by saying its name and ask it to handle tasks like guiding a workout, logging meals, or[helping them shop for products](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/999526/meta-muse-ai-agent-hands-on-shopping)they’re looking at\. Muse is just one of several major updates coming to Meta’s glasses\. They’re also getting some new accessibility features, like a Hearing Enhancement feature Meta says is “FDA\-cleared software for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss\.” It will be available later this year with a Meta One subscription or as a $149 add\-on for compatible glasses\. Meta AI will also be able to give “more context\-rich answers” when users ask the glasses what they’re looking at, potentially making Meta’s glasses more effective for helping blind and low\-vision users interpret their surroundings\. A new audio customization feature will also allow users to shift their smart glasses’ volume between their left and right ears, including sending all audio to one side\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999673/meta-connect-2026-muse-glasses-features) -  ## [Meta ditches the camera on its newest smart glasses](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999281/ray-ban-meta-audio-glasses-meta-connect-2026)   Walking around Meta Connect 2026, everyone’s sporting smart glasses in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes\. It’s a marked difference here, a tech bubble where “pervert glasses” are not a concern\. Outside Connect, the public backlash against wearable surveillance tech — a catchall term that encompasses not just smart glasses, but also smartwatches and AI pendants — is gaining steam\. So it’s incredibly curious timing that this year, the company is launching Ray\-Ban Meta Audio Glasses: smart glasses infused with Meta AI, but with no camera for recording others\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999281/ray-ban-meta-audio-glasses-meta-connect-2026) -  ## [Meta is making Muse more powerful and will let you video chat with it, too](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999454/meta-muse-ai-agent-video-chat-connect-2026)   Image: The Verge, Getty Images, Meta Meta is quickly iterating on its new Muse AI agent, announcing a bunch of updates today that make the bot more capable and able to chat with you in more ways\. Muse agents are getting their own email addresses that they can use for accomplishing tasks\. You’ll also be able to communicate with your Muse agent over the new email addresses, too\. In addition, the recently launched[Muse Mac app](https://www.theverge.com/tech/997332/metas-muse-ai-agent-now-has-a-mac-app)will be getting the ability to use your computer\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/tech/999454/meta-muse-ai-agent-video-chat-connect-2026) -  ## [Meta Connect 2026 live blog: On the ground at Mark Zuckerberg’s next big product launch](https://www.theverge.com/tech/998457/meta-connect-2026-live-blog-mark-zuckerberg-keynote)   Image: The Verge It’s time once again for Meta’s annual September product launch event, and*The Verge*is on the ground in Menlo Park to cover the show live\. Meta[says that](https://www.meta.com/connect/)today’s keynote by Mark Zuckerberg will be about how “Meta is building a future for everyone” — something he wrote at length about[in a recent essay](https://www.meta.com/thefutureisforeveryone/)about AI, smart glasses, and more\. That means we can expect more news from Zuckerberg and his team on those topics; perhaps we’ll hear more about Meta’s recently launched[Muse AI agent](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/997833/meta-muse-creepy)and new glasses hardware\. Whatever Zuckerberg and Meta have to say about smart glasses will be particularly notable\. The company is dealing with an outpouring of privacy and harassment concerns stemming from the product line’s built\-in camera, which has led to them being derided as “pervert glasses\.” Meta has already tried to[tackle that reputation](https://www.theverge.com/tech/985851/meta-privacy-loophole-fix-marketing-campaign)with recent privacy fixes and a new marketing campaign, but it could introduce more updates on the Connect stage\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/tech/998457/meta-connect-2026-live-blog-mark-zuckerberg-keynote)