Meta‘s just-announced Muse Charm is a small, Tamagotchi-like AI wearable, and reactions so far have been mixed: it could make AI more approachable for everyday consumers, or it could join the AI Pin, Rabbit, and Friend pendant in the list of AI hardware gadgets that didn’t take off. What the device clearly is, the article argues, is on-trend, drawing on the kitschy, retro-inspired shift in how Gen Z treats fashion and technology.

That trend is the post-Labubu bag charm culture. Beauty products — lip glosses, hand sanitizers, sunblocks, fragrances — have already been turned into bag charms, aimed primarily at women. Hailey Bieber’s viral Rhode lip case helped establish that beauty products could be fashion accessories; Vogue noted the brand posted $212 million in annual net sales from roughly 10 products before its billion-dollar exit to Elf Beauty. The Labubu craze pushed Pop Mart, the Chinese retailer behind the so-ugly-it’s-cute fuzzy monster charm, to $1.8 billion in 2024 revenue, a 7x jump from 2019. Labubu demand has since faded, but the decorative bag charm has not: one analyst firm estimates the global bag charm market will grow past $1 billion by 2030. Coach’s cherry charms are a current Gen Z favorite, and charms now include characters, bedazzled beauty products, and whimsical objects.

The Muse fits because it is customizable — users design their own avatar, making the AI agent a reflection of themselves. But the Tamagotchi is not the most current reference, the article says; the more immediate one is the Apple Watch keychain or charm trend. Popularized by TikTok videos about repurposing an older watch, the idea has produced thousands of keychain straps, pendants, lanyards, clips, and bag charm cases on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Etsy. These keychain watches are often adopted first as fashion accessories by younger women. The trend overlaps with a broader retro-tech revival: digital cameras, flip phones, iPods, CDs, cassette tapes, home phones, and wired earbuds are quietly coming back, and startups like Clicks are even reviving the physical phone keyboard. Young people describe addictive, algorithm-driven feeds as making them feel disconnected, and these physical objects give them tech they can touch and feel, plus a sense of control. Some young women have gone further, crafting their own portable mini computers, or ‘cyberdecks,’ fitted inside clamshell purses or custom cases and bedazzled with jewels, flowers, stickers, and pearls.

Being on trend does not guarantee a hit, though, and the article’s main caveat is Meta‘s record with consumer trust. The company settled with the FTC over allegations it deceived consumers by making private information public without consent, has been penalized for numerous privacy violations, and was charged by the FTC in 2023 with violating the privacy order filed after the 2019 settlement. Meta has also been repeatedly hauled before Congress over harms to minors, has lost or settled multiple related lawsuits, and has been the subject of whistleblower disclosures. These privacy practices, the article argues, could cost Meta the consumer AI race — unless consumers decide the devil they know beats the alternatives, especially amid warnings that AI could end the human race. Meta‘s end game remains highly targeted, highly personalized ads; the company says it will monetize Muse by taking a small fee from transactions. The open question is whether consumers accept that privacy tradeoff in exchange for free AI.