Meta's Charm gadget carries CEO Zuckerberg's big AI ambitions

Charm has 2-inch (5-cm) screen and built-in 5G modem but cannot make calls Users can tap device to access Muse directly, bypassing AI apps on smartphones Analysts say younger users may like its nostalgic, companion-style design Past AI handhelds flopped, raising doubts about mainstream demand beyond early adopters By Aditya Soni MENLO PARK, California, Sept 23 (Reuters) — Mark Zuckerberg took repeated digs at Apple during Meta's annual event on Wednesday, only to borrow a page from Steve Jobs' playbook for a surprise reveal: a pocket-watch-sized device that carries Meta's viral Muse AI agent into the real world. The device, called Muse Charm, highlights a broader shift at the social media giant that has long sought to escape Apple and Google's operating systems with a platform of its own. Users can tap the gadget to access Muse directly, bypassing AI apps on smartphones. Having once championed the metaverse — the immersive digital world that inspired the company's name change in 2021 — as the next computing platform, Zuckerberg now sees "personal superintelligence" as the bigger and more immediate breakthrough, after his previous costly wager failed. "It is actually quite clear per