Meta’s Muse Charm Looks Like a Tamagotchi, but It Is Tapping Into a Much Newer Trend

Meta’s newly announced AI gadget borrows the look of a 90s toy, but its real inspiration is a Gen Z fashion movement that has turned everyday objects into wearable accessories.

A Familiar Shape With a Modern Twist

Meta has just announced the Muse Charm, a small AI device that immediately invites comparisons to the Tamagotchi. The pocket sized digital pet was a major toy fad in the late 90s and again in the mid 2000s, and the Muse Charm clearly echoes that nostalgic silhouette.

But the Tamagotchi is not the most current reference point. According to TechCrunch, the Muse Charm is actually a twist on something young people are already doing with their Apple Watches. The concept of the Apple Watch keychain or charm has been growing in popularity, fueled by TikTok videos showing creative ways to repurpose an older device when it is not worn on the wrist.

On retailers like Amazon and Walmart, and marketplaces like eBay and Etsy, there are now thousands of Apple Watch keychains, straps, pendants, lanyards, clips, and bag charm cases available in nearly every style imaginable. These keychain watches are often adopted by younger women as a fashion accessory first, rather than as a piece of technology.

That is the trend Meta is trying to ride.

The Rise of the Bag Charm Economy

To understand why the Muse Charm exists at all, it helps to look at what Gen Z has done to the accessory market.

In this post Labubu era, dangling items have become a cultural phenomenon. Everything from lip glosses to hand sanitizers to sunblocks to fragrances has been turned into bag charms, primarily targeted at women. Hailey Bieber’s viral Rhode lip case, which attached a lip gloss to a phone case, had a major influence on the idea that beauty products could double as fashion accessories.

Then came the Labubu craze. Sales of the so ugly it is cute fuzzy monster bag charm exploded, growing Pop Mart’s revenue to 1.8 billion dollars in 2024, a seven times jump from 2019. While demand for the Labubu itself has since faded, the concept of the decorative bag charm has not. One analyst firm estimates the global bag charm market will grow to over 1 billion dollars by 2030.

Today, bag charms can be characters, bedazzled beauty products, or whimsical designs like Coach’s coveted cherry charms. They have proven popular because they are a means of expressing personality, just as humans have done for ages through fashion, makeup, and jewelry.

Meta’s Muse fits this pattern. It is a customizable character. You design your own avatar, which makes the AI agent a reflection of you.

The Retro Tech Comeback

The Muse Charm also intersects with a broader retro tech trend. Older technology like digital cameras, flip phones, iPods, CDs, cassette tapes, home phones, and wired earbuds has been making a quiet comeback.

This vibe shift comes as young people describe the addictive, algorithm driven feeds and soulless nature of technology as making them feel more disconnected. That has fed into a desire for tech they can touch and feel. One startup, Clicks, is even bringing back the physical phone keyboard in a BlackBerry inspired device.

For Gen Z, these physical objects help them feel more connected with the technology they use and offer a sense of control over a world where technology has become so deeply integrated into daily life that it no longer feels like a choice to use it.

Young women have been at the forefront of this trend. Some have even crafted their own portable mini computers, known as cyberdecks, which they fit inside clamshell purses or custom cases and decorate with jewels, flowers, stickers, and pearls to make them feel more personal.

Will It Succeed?

While the Muse Charm is clearly designed with the tech as fashion accessory trend in mind, that does not guarantee it will be a hit. Reactions so far have been mixed, and it faces the same risk as other AI hardware gadgets that failed to take off, such as the Ai Pin, the Rabbit, and the Friend pendant.

Meta also carries a significant trust problem. The company has abused consumer trust over the years to such an extent that it may never fully recover. It had to settle with the FTC over charges that it deceived consumers by making private information public without consent, and has been penalized for numerous privacy related violations. In 2023, the FTC charged Meta with violating a privacy order filed after the 2019 settlement. It has also been repeatedly hauled before Congress over harms to minors and has faced multiple lawsuits and whistleblower allegations.

These careless privacy practices could ultimately cost Meta the battle to become the consumer AI of choice, unless consumers decide that the devil they know is better than the one they do not.

Meta’s end game, after all, is highly targeted, highly personalized ads. If that is the privacy tradeoff for gaining access to free AI, some consumers may be willing to take the risk. Meta has said it will monetize Muse by taking a small fee from transactions.

The Bottom Line

The Muse Charm is not really about nostalgia for the Tamagotchi. It is a bet that AI hardware can succeed by becoming something people want to wear and show off, rather than something they simply use. Whether Meta can pull that off depends less on the form factor and more on whether consumers trust the company holding the charm.

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