Is Meta’s just-announced Muse Charm a playful device that makes AI more approachable to everyday consumers, or is it just another failure in a long list of AI hardware gadgets that didn’t catch on, like the Ai Pin, Rabbit, and Friend pendant?So far, the reaction has been mixed. But what is attractive is becoming a trend.
Like it or not, this form factor is likely to appeal to Gen Z consumers, who are already interested in a variety of dangling items like keychains and bags in this post-love era. It’s all part of a broader kitschy, retro-inspired shift in their approach to fashion and technology.
Already, Gen Z has created a market for dangling items, primarily targeting women, by turning everything from lip gloss to hand sanitizer to sunscreen to fragrance into bag charms.
Hailey Bieber’s Road Lip Case, which went viral by attaching lip gloss to a phone case, greatly influenced this idea that beauty products can also be fashion accessories, just like other beauty-focused bag charms. (When the company announced its $1 billion exit from Elf Beauty last year, Vogue noted that the brand had annual net sales of $212 million with a lineup of about 10 products.)
Then came the Love Bu craze, and sales of the super-ugly-yet-cute fuzzy monster bag charms exploded, with PopMart’s (the Chinese retailer that developed the product) revenue growing to $1.8 billion in 2024, a sevenfold increase from 2019. Although the demand for the love bu itself has since waned, the concept of decorative bag charms has not. One analyst firm predicts that the global bag charm market will grow to more than $1 billion by 2030.
Today, bag charms can be characters, show-stopping beauty products, or other whimsical designs and objects, like Coach’s coveted cherry charm, a Gen Z favorite. Fashion has proven to be a popular way to express one’s individuality, just as humans have long done through fashion choices, makeup, and jewelry.
Similarly, Meta’s Muse is a customizable character. When you design your own avatar, your AI agent will reflect you.
And, as many have noted, the Muse Charm’s form factor is reminiscent of the Tamagotchi, the pocket-sized digital virtual pet that was all the rage in the late ’90s and again in the mid-2000s.
However, Tamagotchi is not a modern reference. The Muse Charm actually seems like a twist on what some young people are already doing with their Apple Watches. The concept of Apple Watch keychains or charms, often intended as a way to reuse old devices, has become popular with TikTok videos showing different ways to use the Apple Watch when it’s not on your wrist.
Retailers like Amazon and Walmart and marketplaces like eBay and Etsy currently sell thousands of Apple Watch keychains, straps, pendants, lanyards, clips, and bag charm cases in almost every style imaginable. As you might expect, these keychain watches are increasingly being adopted by young women first as a fashion accessory rather than a piece of technology.
All of this intersects with a broader retro technology trend, where older technologies such as digital cameras, flip phones, iPods, CDs, cassette tapes, home phones, and wired earphones are quietly making a comeback.
This shift in the climate of the tech world, with young people describing them as feeling more isolated due to addictive, algorithm-driven feeds and the “soul” nature of technology, is also contributing to this trend towards tactile technology. (One startup, Clicks, for example, is bringing back physical keyboards on phones with a BlackBerry-inspired device.)
For Gen Z, these physical objects help them feel more connected to the technology they use, providing a sense of control over a world where technology is so embedded in our lives that it no longer feels like we are choosing to use it.
Young women are also at the forefront of this trend. Some people create their own small, portable computer, a Cyberdeck, in a clamshell wallet or custom-made case and decorate it with jewelry, flowers, stickers, pearls, and other items to make it more personal.
So let’s go back to the muse charm. This is clearly designed with the trend of technology as a fashion accessory in mind, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a hit.
Meta has been abusing consumer trust for years to the point that it has never fully recovered.
Just to name a few, the tech giant had to settle with the FTC over charges that it deceived consumers by releasing users’ personal information without their consent. The company has been fined by the FTC for numerous privacy-related violations. In 2023, the FTC charged Mehta with violating a privacy order filed after a 2019 settlement. It has also been repeatedly sued by Congress over harm to minors, lost or settled multiple lawsuits on the same topic, and various whistleblowers have accused it of abuse.
These careless privacy practices could ultimately cause Meta to lose the race to be the consumer AI of choice…unless, of course, consumers decide that “the devil you know” is better than the devil you don’t know. (Especially the latter, warning that AI could spell the end for humanity.)
After all, the ultimate goal of meta is targeted, highly personalized advertising. If it’s a privacy tradeoff in gaining access to free AI (Meta says it monetizes Muse by taking a small fee from transactions), consumers may be willing to take the risk.
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