Meta is developing an AI pendant to take on Apple and Humane

Meta is developing a personal AI pendant. The company is making an ambitious bet on a new form factor to compete in the market for portable AI devices, where Apple, Humane and other tech leaders are already active.

A next-generation form factor

It is too early to publish details about the device itself: the project is still in development. But the logic is clear. An AI pendant is a compact, lightweight device that a person wears all the time. It costs less than a smartphone and offers enough functionality for everyday interaction with an AI assistant.

The pendant can work as a standalone device or paired with a smartphone. Meta will most likely build a hybrid solution: local processing for quick commands and the cloud for complex tasks. Jewelry as a form factor is more intimate than a watch and less conspicuous than a smartphone, which suits an "AI that is always with you" model.

Why this matters for Meta

Meta has several reasons to take portable AI seriously.

First, the smartphone is ceasing to be the central device. Users are moving to smartwatches, glasses, rings and other wearables. If Meta is not present there, it will lose contact with the user.

Second, owning the hardware means control. A Meta pendant is not just a device but an entry point into an ecosystem: services, apps, advertising. The data the pendant's sensors collect (voice, position, gestures) stays with Meta, not Apple.

Third, it is a competitive necessity. Apple has already built AI deep into its ecosystem of watches, phones and earbuds. Humane has taken the niche of a dedicated AI pendant with the AI Pin. OpenAI is developing its own portable AI device. If Meta does not compete, it will end up on the periphery of the era of personal AI.

The market is already in the race

It is 2026, and portable AI devices are not science fiction but reality:

• Apple Watch with built-in AI: millions of users, high price
• Humane AI Pin: a bet on pure AI in a badge worn on the chest
• Rabbit R1: an unusual form factor, focused on launching apps through AI
• Samsung Galaxy Ring: a ring with health sensors and an AI assistant
• OpenAI and other startups: testing their own versions

Each of these products finds its audience. The market is splitting by price, features and purpose. Meta, whose pendant will work within the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp ecosystem, may take a price and feature segment below Apple, but with better integration of social services.

What this means

Meta understands that the future belongs to portable AI. The pendant is not just a gadget but a signal of the company's direction for the next 5-10 years. The world is moving toward an era in which the smartphone will no longer be the main interface between people and information. A personal AI will take its place, and it will be with you in a pendant, a watch or glasses. Meta is joining this race late, but seriously.

*Meta has been designated an extremist organization and is banned in Russia.