Meta plans AI pendant testing and a business‑focused Wearables for Work subscription

At a glance:

• Meta will begin testing an AI‑powered pendant in 2027, building on its 2025 acquisition of Limitless.
• The company will launch a enterprise‑grade subscription, Wearables for Work, that adds transcription and CRM tools to its glasses and pendant.
• Meta’s hardware division, Reality Labs, hopes the new form factors to help offset $4 billion Q1 2026 losses.

What the memo reveals

Meta’s internal roadmap, seen by The Information, confirms that the social‑media giant is moving ahead with an AI‑enabled pendant that will enter testing within the next year. The device is a direct descendant of the technology created by Limitless, a startup Meta bought at the end of 2025. Limitless previously sold a clip‑on or necklace‑style pendant that could record conversations and generate transcripts in real time.

The memo also outlines an expansion of Meta’s AI glasses lineup and the introduction of a new business‑oriented subscription called Wearables for Work. This tier would shift Meta’s wearables from a consumer curiosity to a productivity platform, echoing Microsoft’s Copilot model but delivered through hardware. Reality Labs, the division responsible for Meta’s hardware, posted a $4 billion loss in Q1 2026 alone, underscoring the urgency of finding revenue‑generating use cases.

How Meta’s approach differs from past attempts

Earlier AI pendant ventures have struggled. Humane’s AI Pin launched in 2024 to poor reviews and was effectively shuttered within a year, later sold to HP for $116 million. Friend, another startup, spent over $1 million on subway ads but failed to attract a sustainable user base. Both products lacked compelling utility to justify wearing an extra gadget.

Meta believes it can avoid those pitfalls because it already runs a successful wearables business. In 2025 Meta sold more than seven million Ray‑Ban smart glasses, commanding roughly 82 % of the smart‑glasses market. The pendant would therefore be an additional form factor within an ecosystem that already demonstrates consumer demand, rather than a standalone gamble on an unproven category.

The background of the Limitless acquisition

Limitless raised over $33 million from investors such as Sam Altman and Andreessen Horowitz before Meta’s purchase. Its CEO, Dan Siroker, said the company’s vision of “personal superintelligence” through wearables aligned with Meta’s own ambitions. After the acquisition, Limitless stopped taking new customers but continued to support existing users, giving Meta a ready‑made technology stack to adapt for the pendant.

Wearables for Work: what the subscription could include

Meta’s current glasses already integrate Meta AI for voice queries, live translation, and visual identification. The Wearables for Work tier would extend these capabilities with features aimed at enterprise users, including:

• Meeting transcription and ambient note‑taking.
• Direct integration with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms.
• Hands‑free access to workplace tools via voice or gesture.

This model mirrors the way Microsoft bundles Copilot into its Office suite, but Meta intends to deliver the experience through its hardware ecosystem rather than purely software.

Market context and competition

The broader wearables market is fragmenting into several niches. Apple dominates the smartwatch segment, while screenless health trackers from Oura and Whoop gain traction. Google’s Fitbit Air focuses on passive data collection. Meta’s pendant would occupy a fourth niche: ambient AI capture, an always‑on recording device that supplements—not replaces—a phone.

Privacy and regulatory hurdles

Meta’s Ray‑Ban glasses have already attracted lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny over camera footage handling. A pendant that records conversations raises similar concerns, amplified by its intimate form factor. In the EU, where Meta faces ongoing Digital Markets Act enforcement and GDPR investigations, these privacy issues could limit the pendant’s launch geography.

Outlook for Meta’s hardware bets

Beyond the pendant, Meta’s hardware roadmap includes a planned smartwatch codenamed Malibu 2, next‑gen VR headsets, and a Vision Pro competitor. Cumulative losses for Reality Labs have topped $60 billion since the division’s inception. The AI pendant and Wearables for Work subscription are key pieces of a strategy to reverse that trend. Success will hinge on whether Meta can make ambient AI recording useful enough for users to wear and trustworthy enough for bystanders to accept.