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Meta Bets Its Future On Muse As Zuckerberg Pushes To Own The Next AI Hardware Layer

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 25, 2026

Mark Zuckerberg has spent years trying to control the hardware layer through which people access Meta’s services. Now, as he positions Muse as the centerpiece of the company’s artificial intelligence strategy, he is making a renewed bet that consumer devices will turn that ambition into a durable business advantage.

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Meta’s New AI Push Arrives Early

At Meta’s annual Connect conference, held a week before OpenAI’s major developer event, the company said that by the end of 2026 there will be more than 100 styles of AI glasses. Zuckerberg also unveiled a new pendant, the Muse Charm, though he did not disclose pricing.

The timing was deliberate. Meta was late to generative AI and has trailed OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, each of which has built a stronger lead with both models and products. Zuckerberg is now attempting to close that gap with Muse, an app designed to function like a personal assistant by handling tasks such as email, travel booking and online shopping.

Investors Are Buying The Hardware Story

Markets have responded positively. Meta’s stock rose 4.5% on Thursday and has gained more than 25% since the company introduced Muse earlier this month. Investors appear willing to give Zuckerberg another chance after Meta failed to create a meaningful consumer market for virtual reality following its rebrand from Facebook to Meta five years ago.

“Meta Connect 2026 more explicitly attached Muse AI as a killer app fused deeply into the hardware strategy, from AR glasses and extending into Muse Charm, a dedicated keychain-like device providing rapid access to Muse,” Mizuho analysts wrote in a Thursday note. The firm, which rates the stock a buy, said Meta’s AI progress should continue to drive multiple expansion in the shares.

A Pendant Built For The AI Era

The Muse Charm looks like a hybrid between a children’s keychain toy and a wearable alert device. Zuckerberg said Meta still needs to finalize the materials and component layout before the product is ready for the holidays.

The device is meant to give users a faster, more direct way to reach their AI agent. Zuckerberg said it will include a fingerprint sensor that activates voice interaction with Muse. Meta also said Muse will soon be integrated into its smart glasses, giving users hands-free access simply by speaking the agent’s name.

Meta Tries To Reduce Its Dependence On Apple

For Zuckerberg, the hardware strategy is also about distribution power. Meta remains dependent on Apple for access to consumers, a vulnerability sharpened after Apple’s 2021 privacy changes reduced the effectiveness of app-based advertising targeting.

Meta has had some success in smart glasses through its partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban. The company also introduced slimmer, lighter Meta VR Glasses, which will sell for $1,299 next year. That marks Meta’s first VR launch since the $299 Quest 3S in 2024.

OpenAI Is Moving Toward Hardware Too

The competition is intensifying. As OpenAI prepares for its DevDay conference, expectations are rising that the company could introduce its own long-rumored hardware product. Reports suggest the device may resemble a hockey puck-style speaker. OpenAI declined to comment.

Meta’s recent momentum has also been helped by Muse’s rapid ascent to the top of Apple’s App Store, surpassing ChatGPT. At the same time, OpenAI and Anthropic are facing growing scrutiny over the potential risks of their models, with critics and executives raising alarms about possible harms.

The Real Test Is Consumer Demand

Even with the investor enthusiasm, analysts and operators say the bigger question is whether consumers actually need another device. Smartphones already do much of what Meta is promising, and the Muse Charm must prove it can offer a simpler, faster experience rather than adding friction.

Anthony Ferry, chief executive of e-commerce company Wayvia, said the device would need to be easier to use than a phone. “If I still have to pull out my phone to finish the job or fix the order, it’s just another thing to charge,” he said.

Anshika Jain, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, sees potential in the category. She said Muse Charm reflects a broader shift in how consumers may use AI in daily life, especially when they need context-aware assistance on the move. “At the core is the Muse AI agent, which is designed to understand context and take actions in a faster way rather than just responding to queries,” she said.

Monetization Remains The Critical Question

Meta still has to prove that the surge in interest around Muse is more than a trend. It also needs a viable business model. Amazon has already blocked Muse from scanning its site to shop for customers, following similar restrictions imposed on Perplexity, OpenAI and Google.

Zuckerberg said Meta expects to make money over time by taking a small fee from transactions. That approach, however, raises a practical question for businesses: whether Muse is generating new demand or simply diverting existing demand into Meta’s ecosystem.

“If it brings you a customer you wouldn’t have reached, great,” Ferry said. “But if the same customer buys the same product through another channel, that isn’t automatically a new sale.”

William Blair analyst Ralph Schackart said Meta has outlined a clear monetization model, expecting to generate revenue primarily by taking a small fee on transactions completed through Muse while keeping the product free for most users.

For Zuckerberg, the strategy is familiar: pair software with proprietary hardware, reduce dependence on gatekeepers and create a new consumer habit before rivals can define the market. The difference this time is that the AI boom gives Meta a clearer narrative, and perhaps a faster path to relevance, than the metaverse ever did.

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Europe’s Deadly Summer Heat Exposed The Cost Of A Warming Continent

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 23, 2026

Europe experienced its deadliest summer for heat-related deaths on record in 2026, with an estimated 24,400 excess deaths linked to extreme temperatures across 30 countries. Researchers estimate that human-induced climate change was responsible for around 32,000 of the deaths attributed to heat in the study’s broader analysis, accounting for 65% of the total.

The findings highlight the growing public-health consequences of global warming, largely driven by fossil fuel use, as extreme heat becomes more frequent and severe.

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A Summer Of Dangerous Heat

Between June and August, heatwaves pushed temperatures in Western Europe to an average of 2.9°C above the 1991–2020 norm, with some days reaching 12°C above average. Nearly a third of estimated heat-related deaths occurred during a particularly intense heatwave between 17 June and 1 July.

“These numbers are a stark reminder that our hotter, more extreme summers are having an increasingly severe impact on public health,” said Dr Clair Barnes, a researcher at Imperial College London and co-author of the study.

The estimated toll exceeded previous peaks of around 29,000 deaths in summer 2022 and 28,000 in 2003 across the region studied.

How Researchers Estimated The Toll

Researchers modelled the relationship between temperature and mortality across 854 urban areas in the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland, covering around 40% of the population in the 30 countries studied.

The analysis incorporated temperature records, age, socioeconomic conditions, environmental factors and access to healthcare. By comparing actual temperatures with those expected without human-induced warming, the team estimated the additional deaths attributable to climate change.

Final official mortality figures for summer 2026 are not yet available in many countries, and heat-related deaths are often underreported because their effects can be difficult to identify directly.

Older People Face The Greatest Risk

People aged 85 and over accounted for roughly half of the estimated deaths. However, the impact extended across age groups, with around 800 excess deaths among adults aged 20–44 and approximately 6,000 among people under 65.

Southern Europe experienced the highest mortality burden, reflecting hotter temperatures and other vulnerabilities, including air pollution, limited green space and unequal access to healthcare and heat-alert systems.

Italy, France And Spain Record Highest Toll

Italy recorded an estimated 13,303 heat-related excess deaths, followed by France with 7,268 and Spain with 6,824. Germany recorded around 6,340, while the UK saw an estimated 4,354 deaths.

In the UK, the heat also placed significant pressure on healthcare services. Andrew Hartle, Professor of Practice of Anaesthesia at Imperial College Healthcare, said demand during the summer resembled that of a severe winter virus season.

Cities Urged To Strengthen Heat Protection

Researchers say cities can reduce the risks through climate shelters, external shading and building retrofits, alongside measures to help residents avoid exposure during the hottest hours. Checking on vulnerable people, staying hydrated and following heat alerts are also important.

The researchers stress that adaptation must go hand in hand with reducing fossil fuel use to limit further warming. The findings underline that extreme heat is already a major public-health threat across Europe, with thousands of lives at risk each summer.