# Meta's Muse Charm taps into Gen Z's retro tech trend

> Meta's new AI device looks like a Tamagotchi but rides a wave of young people turning tech into fashion accessories and rejecting algorithm-driven disconnection.
- Title: Meta's Muse Charm taps into Gen Z's retro tech trend
- Summary: Meta's new AI device looks like a Tamagotchi but rides a wave of young people turning tech into fashion accessories and rejecting algorithm-driven…
- Keywords: meta, muse charm, ai hardware, gen z, bag charms, retro tech, fashion accessories, labubu, apple watch, consumer trust, technology, startups
- Source: TechCrunch — https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/24/metas-muse-charm-looks-like-a-tamagotchi-but-its-tapping-into-a-much-newer-trend
- Author: Sarah Perez
- Published: 2026-09-24T17:39:24+00:00
- Read time: 3 min
- Topics: meta, muse charm, ai hardware, gen z, bag charms, retro tech, fashion accessories, labubu, apple watch, consumer trust, technology, startups
## Meta launches Muse Charm
Meta announced Muse Charm, a device that looks like a Tamagotchi but functions as an AI agent. Reactions have been mixed about whether it will succeed or flop like Ai Pin, Rabbit, and Friend pendant.
## Gen Z loves dangling fashion items
Gen Z has embraced a kitschy, retro-inspired approach to fashion and technology, creating a market for dangling items like keychains and bag charms. This trend could appeal to Muse Charm users.
## Beauty products became bag charms
Hailey Bieber's Rhode lip case, which attached lip gloss to a phone case, influenced the idea that beauty products could be fashion accessories. Rhode saw 212 million dollars in annual net sales from roughly ten products.
## Labubu craze exploded the market
The Labubu fuzzy monster bag charm caused Pop Mart's revenue to grow to 1.8 billion dollars in two thousand twenty-four, a seven times jump from two thousand nineteen. Demand for Labubu has since faded but the bag charm concept remains.
## Bag charm market keeps growing
One analyst firm estimates the global bag charm market will grow to over one billion dollars by two thousand thirty. Today's bag charms range from characters to bedazzled beauty products to whimsical designs like Coach's coveted cherry charms.
## Muse Charm is a customizable avatar
Meta's Muse is a customizable character where you design your own avatar, making the AI agent a reflection of you. This mirrors how bag charms let people express their personality through fashion choices.
## Apple Watch keychains inspired the trend
Young people have been turning Apple Watches into keychains and charms, often as a way to repurpose older devices. On Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Etsy there are thousands of Apple Watch keychains, straps, pendants, and bag charm cases available.
## Retro tech is making a comeback
Older tech like digital cameras, flip phones, iPods, CDs, cassette tapes, home phones, and wired earbuds are making a quiet comeback. This broader retro-tech trend reflects young people's desire to feel more connected with technology.
## Young people want tangible tech
Young people describe algorithm-driven feeds and the soulless nature of technology as making them feel disconnected. They want tech they can touch and feel, like Clicks' BlackBerry-inspired device with a physical phone keyboard.
## Young women craft personalized cyberdecks
Young women have been crafting portable mini computers called cyberdecks, fitting them inside clamshell purses and bedazzling them with jewels, flowers, stickers, pearls, and other items to make them feel more personal.
## Meta's privacy record is a problem
Meta has settled with the FTC over deceiving consumers about private information, faced penalties for privacy violations, and been hauled before Congress over harms to minors. These practices could undermine Muse Charm's success.
## Meta's monetization strategy relies on ads
Meta said it will monetize Muse by taking a small fee from transactions. Meta's end game is highly-targeted, highly-personalized ads, so consumers may accept privacy tradeoffs to gain access to free AI.
## Key takeaway

Meta launched Muse Charm, an AI device styled as a customizable avatar charm, capitalizing on Gen Z's trend of wearing tech as fashion while facing questions about whether it will succeed where other AI gadgets like Ai Pin and Rabbit have failed.