Tech Brew Ride Home - Meta Made a Tamagotchi for Its AI

Episode Date: September 24, 2026

Meta unveiled $1,299 VR Glasses, $349 camera-free Ray-Ban Audio glasses, and a keychain Muse Charm gadget, plus Ray-Ban Display upgrades. Anthropic's Claude agents found a CRISPR-like enzyme system in its biolab. OpenAI's agents hacked an Australian government site hunting data. Meta debuts Meta VR Glasses, a ~100g VR headset with an external compute pack, three-hour battery, and ~2.5K resolution per eye, coming spring 2027 for $1,299 (Bloomberg) The Verge goes hands-on with the Meta VR Glasses, calling them a lighter, easier-to-live-with take on Vision Pro-style computing — from VR-enhanced Avengers screenings to a surprisingly usable virtual keyboard (The Verge) Meta unveils Ray-Ban Meta Audio, its first pair of glasses without cameras, offering up to 12 hours of battery life, starting at $349 and shipping October 13 (Bloomberg) Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses add holographic-avatar video calls, voice-guided transit directions, and a new Explore app for finding compatible programs (Engadget) Meta previews Muse Charm, a palm-sized Tamagotchi-like device for using Muse, with a ~2" OLED screen, front and rear cameras, and 5G, on sale by the end of 2026 (Bloomberg) Meta's Muse Charm houses a cute digital avatar named Jolly and lets you start talking to Muse with a tap of the fingerprint sensor — no phone unlock required (TechCrunch) Muse agents are getting their own email addresses, a live video-call mode, and the ability to control your Mac (The Verge) Anthropic's biolab made a discovery it's comparing to Crispr (The Verge) OpenAI agents hacked an Australian government website in search for data (The New York Times) Subscribe to the ad-free feed.

Welcome to the TechBrew Ride Home for Thursday, September 24th, 2026. I'm Brian McCullough today. Meta unveiled actual VR glasses. Also, camera-free, rayband audio glasses and a keychain muse charm gadget. Anthraffic's clawed agents found a CRISPR-like enzyme system in its biolab and more AI agent hacking this time in Australian government site. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. I've got good news. IT pros. Ace of Uptime is back. with new decks you won't want to miss. This online card game made by Eaton gives you the chance to battle IT villains and become an IT hero. And now there are three new decks made for Enterprise, Data Center, and lone IT pros. Each one is built for those unique worlds with their own challenges.

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your head, but they still have immersive displays for watching movies, playing games, and getting work done. Imagine a pair of hefty black sunglasses with blacked-out lenses on the outside, but the components of a typical VR headset distributed between the device on your head and a computing puck in your pocket. The idea is to give you a way to experience VR in a much lighter and more approachable form factor than Vision Pro or MetaQuest-style headsets. I got to try the VR glasses at Meta's campus this week, and as Meta walked me through some familiar VR demos, like watching content, playing a game, and working for multiple screens, I was impressed by how much lighter the whole experience felt.

Some of that was about the literal weight as the glasses come in at just 100 grams, far less than the Quest 3's 515 grams. But there was also something lighter in a more intangible way. The glasses form factor made the headset seem like something I could easily jump in and out of instead of being a whole cumbersome commitment with big headstraps. It felt like a lightweight Vision Pro and is perhaps, perhaps a better execution of some of what Apple wanted to do with that device. To keep things light, the VR glasses display and the sensors are all you actually wear on your face.

The separate puck connected with a wire contains the guts, powering the headset, a Snapdragon Reality Elite processor, 12 gigabytes of storage, 12 gigabytes of RAM, and the battery, which Meta says will offer up to three hours of media playback, though you can continue using the glasses even while the puck is being charged. The display is what Meta calls a 5K micro-Oled infinite display. It has 2412 by 2288 pixels per eye at 37 pixels per degree and supports a refresh rate of up to 120 hertz. On the front of the glasses are two cameras for color pass-through, letting you see through to the world around you. The headset comes in small and large sizes to offer different options for width, though they cost the same. You primarily use your eyes and hand gestures to control the glasses. You just look at elements on screen to navigate, and the OS will highlight what your eyes are looking at using two pairs of eye tracking cameras. To select something that's highlighted, you can pinch your thumb and pointer finger together, and to scroll around, you make a fist and move your thumb around the top of your hand. It feels similar to the gestures from the meta ray band display, but those require a neural wristband. The VR glasses instead use six extra.

camera to follow your hands. Based on my demos, I think the VR glasses will be best for entertainment because of the big virtual screen. Meta showed me a clip from James Cameron's Billy Ilish concert film, which was impressive on a huge virtual display and parts of the most recent NBA finals, which was filmed on a format called VR-180 that provides a 180-degree view of the court. I also got to watch some of Avengers Endgame in what Meta characterized as a VR-enhanced cinema experience made in partnership with Disney and Industrial Light and Magic.

In the entire VR environment around the screen showing the film, there were graphics that thematically lined up with what was actually happening on screen that also changed as the clip went on. When a huge energy beam appeared at a major moment in the film featuring Thor, I saw one shootout at the top of the VR environment too. Meta says that VR enhanced versions of Avengers Infinity War and Star Wars A New Hope will be available when the VR glasses launch. gaming remains a major use case too. Meta showed me a new mode for beat saber called Flux that supports playing with hands, though it will work with the Quest Touch plus controllers too. Instead of waving virtual sabers to hit blocks in time with the music like in the original,

flux tasked me with moving my hands, which were each surrounded by balls of energy connected by pulsing electricity to break through flying poles and smash targets. It makes sense when you play it, and the one song I played was really enjoyed. The VR glasses will have more than 75 games at launch. That will support the new hands-first experience, including a VR version of Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney, Dual Destinies, launching in 2027, but they'll also support the entire current Quest app catalog and can connect to Touch Plus controllers and Bluetooth controllers. Meta is also pitching this as a way to browse apps and do some work, and I can see the vision. In one demo, I use the glasses to

mirror three windows from a nearby laptop. You'll be able to to connect wirelessly to computers or other devices with a USBC connection, which could be useful if you want more screen real estate for work. My favorite demo from the whole session was actually one about typing. While using a special version of Instagram made for the VR glasses, I was prompted to leave a comment on a picture, but I was able to type that comment and navigate the app using a virtual keyboard and trackpad that appeared after I laid my hands flat on a table. To my surprise, the virtual keyboard and trackpad were actually good. Of course, the experience wasn't as speedy, as using a physical keyboard and mouse,

but in a pinch for a short message or email, I think it could be quite useful. The glasses cost $1,999.99 and we'll go on sale in spring of 2027. That price puts the VR glasses between Meta's $600 Quest 3 and a high-end VR headset like Apple's $3,500 Vision Pro, and I think that's the right way to think about them. I don't think they will transform the landscape of VR, especially when meta itself has been divesting from VR software

and largely moving on from the VR version of Horizon Worlds, end quote. Meta also unveiled Rayban Meta Audio, its first pair of glasses without cameras, offering up to 12 hours of battery life, starting at $349 in shipping October 3rd, quoting Bloomberg. The company also introduced a third-generation model of its camera-equipped ray-band spectacles and new versions of its more affordable.

meta-branded frames, but the new audio-focused glasses give meta a way to revisit a product category that has sparked outcry over privacy issues. Meta and the broader smart glasses industry have faced concerns that the devices cameras can record people without their knowledge or consent. The camera-free glasses start at $349 and are scheduled to ship October 3rd. They will be available in Rayband's rectangular Burbank frame and the classic Clubmaster style. In a demonstration, they felt no thicker or heavier than conventional Rayband glasses. The camera-free Free models also offer as much as 12 hours of battery life on a single charge that contrasts with the third generation rayband metaglasses that now offer nine hours up from eight in the previous model. That product's frames are slimmer than their predecessors but remain bigger than the audio-only spectacles.

The third-generation models also include a new action button that can be programmed to perform specific tasks, such as launching the Muse voice assistant, end quote. More on Muse in a little bit. There are also new features and apps on the, meta rayband display glasses, though, quoting in gadget. One of the notable changes coming to the device is support for a holographic avatar while taking calls. Since calls via smart glasses mean the wearer's face isn't visible to whomever they're chatting with, this feature uses the meta-AI app to create a photorealistic hologram to display instead. According to the press release, your hologram is driven entirely by your voice and the hologram model and furs your expression from what you're saying and how you're saying it. The hologram feature will initially be available

and early access later this fall for WhatsApp users in the U.S. The glasses heads-up navigation tools have also been expanded, allowing aware to ask for cycling or public transit directions with a voice command. Users in the U.S. in Canada will be the first to have this feature rolling out later this month. Additionally, the navigation directions can now be based on the world around the person rather than solely relying on street signs for a more conversational experience. For example, you might be directed to turn left at the yellow house rather than turn left on 3rd Street. when Carissa Bell reviewed the Rayband Display Smart Classes last year,

one of the top issues she had with the display was a lack of available apps. A new Explorer app is coming to both the smart classes and the Meta-I app that will help users to browse available programs that do work on the set. The other features announced today include some incremental improvements to the user experience, such as bringing Dolby Atmos audio to its capture and playback tools, photo editing within the display screen itself, a more detailed calendar, mirrored phone notifications and threads for community feeds, end quote. Is your multi-entity management creating more confusion than clarity you need the Intuit ERP,

Intuit Enterprise Suite? It's the AI-Native ERP solution that's powerful, painless, and proven. Learn more at intuit.com slash ERP. Do you spend your afternoons anxiously consuming coffee, energy drinks, or nicotine just to avoid crashing, well, I'm here to tell you you don't have to live like that. Ultra pouches can help you feel energized and focused without any nicotine or caffeine. How? They use clinically proven neutropics and adaptogens that are designed to lift your energy. Made alongside neuroscientists, these plant-powered pouches are used by entrepreneurs, athletes, and engineers alike.

And it's clear to see why 90% of ultra-pouches users saw significant improvements in their overall focus levels. Choose from delicious flavors like cool mint, tropical, watermelon, and blue raz, and see how Ultra Pouches makes you feel. New customers can use code TBRH to get 15% off at Take Ultra.com. That's take ultra.com for 15% off with code TBRH. Oh, but there was one more thing. Meta also previewed the Muse charm,

a palm-sized Tamagotchi-like device for using Muse, with around a 2-inch OLED screen, front and rear cameras, and 5G on sale by the end of the year. Quoting TechCrunch. The Muse Agent, which is now embodied by a cute digital avatar known within the company as Jolly, lives inside the palm-sized totem that users can carry in their pockets or attach to a keychain. The device comes with a tiny screen that displays the avatar representing the agent. Users can talk to the device, which can then presumably carry out tasks on their behalf. We packed the whole Muse experience, including

the whole real-time voice and avatar stack into something that fits on a keychain and always available to talk to, Mark Zuckerberg said during Wednesday's keynote, you just go ahead and tap here in the fingerprint sensor in the corner and you can start talking without having to unlock a phone or open an app. Zuckerberg added, so if you're not wearing glasses, this is going to be by far the fastest way to talk to your muse and show what's going on around you. Appropriate for what it offers, the gadget has a quasi-tamaguchi feel to it, a lightweight personality-filled device designed to keep users always connected to meta's software. It also feels like a relatively low-stakes way for the social media giant to experiment with AI wearables, while also offering yet another

way to distribute its AI agents to the masses, end quote. Meta also used the occasion to talk about new things you can do with Muse right now, quoting the verge. Mews agents are getting their own email addresses that they can use for accomplishing tasks. You'll also be able to communicate with your Mews agent over the new email addresses too. In addition, the recently launched Mews Mac app will be getting the ability to use your computer. Meta is also going to give you another way to chat with its popular AI agent video calls. Since its recent launch, the primary way to talk to Muse was through a chat interface, but you'll soon be able to have live video conversations with your Muse Avatar.

Meta will let you tweak the way your Muse avatar sounds. You can already customize the way it looks. And a new Muse Real Time Avatar model will inform how it moves, end quote. Remember when I told you, you about that wet lab that Anthropic has spun up. Well, Anthropic now says Claude autonomously discovered a new enzyme system in the DNA of bacteriophages, somewhat similar to CRISPR, the first result from this new biolab, quoting the verge. The company says Claude found the enzyme system after searching through a massive database of DNA sequences, adding that its scientists' involvement

was limited to the initial prompt and lab work. Over 21 hours, Anthropics said, nearly 950 Claude agents worked through 210 million tokens before one spotted an unusual repeating pattern in the dataset and flagged for human review. Further analysis and lab testing revealed a previously uncharacterized enzyme system found in bacteriophages, a type of virus that infects bacteria. Anthropics said it is still working to understand what the enzyme system does, but said it felt it was important to share such findings early, both to demonstrate Claude's capabilities and to give the broader community insight into what we're working on. Despite Anthropics' comparisons to CRISPR, it remains unclear whether the discovery will have

any practical applications, let alone be as transformative as the gene editing technology. The admittedly premature announcement comes as Anthropics seeks to attract more scientists to its lab and expand into areas like drug discovery, end quote. AI agents including OpenAIs tried to hack UNM's digital library, data USA, and an Australian government site in May and June using the URL query.net service. OpenAI says its agents took actions we did not intend when they tried to hack government and university websites and it is working with the organizations, quoting the times. Open AIs artificial intelligence went rogue this year and at least four additional. incidents hacking and trying to break into government and university websites without being instructed to do so according to researchers and government officials. The attacks took place in May and June

before OpenAI's technology breached the AI startup Hugging Face in July and set off a global debate about AI safety. Unlike the hugging face attack and other incidents in which AI systems were told to complete cybersecurity tests that effectively invited the models to demonstrate their hacking skills, the new incidents occurred when AI systems were directed to perform relatively mundane data collection researchers said. When Open AI systems struggled to gather data from websites, they resorted to hacking techniques to get the information. Three of the incidents were identified by Transluse, a research lab focused on AI oversight, and all were confirmed by OpenAI. Here's how they happened. Open AI systems tried hacking a digital library at the University of New Mexico

on May 25 and 26th. The AI did not appear to succeed. The technology targeted Data USA, a repository of public data about American employment and education on May 29th. attempt also appeared to be unsuccessful, researchers said. On June 18th, OpenAIs AI hacked an Australian government website, the Medicare Statistics Reporting Service, and acquired health data. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese disclosed the episode on Wednesday. On June 20th and 21st, Open AI's technology tried to breach the website of the Australian Institute of Health and welfare. No private information was obtained, Australian officials said. An open AI team was conducting internet research into public medicine spending, Mr. Albinase said when its agents,

after encountering repeated blocks, tried, quote, alternate ways to obtain the information it wanted and got into non-public parts of the portal. Open AI informed the Australian government on September 10th. This is a new world we are dealing with. The prime minister said, end quote. Nothing more for you today. Talk to you tomorrow.