Meta releases 816B-parameter Muse Spark Open model with Apple partnership

By Splitfeed EditorialLast updated Oct 15, 2026, 19:40 UTC

On October 15, 2026, Meta released Muse Spark Open, an open-weights model with 816 billion parameters, alongside a smaller open-weights model called Muse Glimmer. The full Muse Spark model was not released publicly and remains closed. Meta and Apple jointly optimized Muse Spark Open to run on Apple silicon, specifically the M5 Ultra chip inside the Mac Studio. Running the model locally requires two Mac Studio units paired together, with each unit priced at $5,499, meaning the minimum local hardware cost sits at roughly $11,000. VentureBeat described Muse Spark Open as the leading U.S. open-weights model at the time of its release.

The Meta and Apple partnership draws attention because the two companies have long operated on distinct and largely non-overlapping paths in consumer hardware and AI software. A collaboration in which Meta optimizes a frontier-scale model specifically for Apple hardware represents a meaningful shift in how large open models might reach end users, moving the conversation from cloud access toward local deployment on consumer-grade machines. At the same time, the decision to release Muse Spark Open while keeping the full Muse Spark closed raises a recurring question in AI development about what open-weights actually means in practice, since the most capable version of the model remains proprietary. Meta's overall AI spending trajectory, noted in coverage without a precise figure being resolved, adds context to how the company is positioning these releases competitively.

None of the three camps have published specific reactions to this story yet. The Pro-AI camp would typically highlight the 816-billion-parameter scale as evidence that open-weights models are closing the gap with closed frontier systems, and would frame the Apple partnership as expanding access to powerful AI outside of cloud infrastructure. The Anti-AI camp would likely focus on the cost barrier, pointing out that a roughly $11,000 hardware requirement is far from democratic access, and might question what remains hidden inside the closed Muse Spark. The Middle Ground camp would probably welcome the open release while pressing for clarity on the distinction between Muse Spark Open and the full Muse Spark, arguing that transparency about capability differences matters as much as the open-weights label itself.

The arguments that will settle some of these disputes include independent benchmarks comparing Muse Spark Open against other frontier open-weights models, any disclosure Meta makes about what capabilities are exclusive to the closed Muse Spark, and whether Apple extends the Mac Studio optimization to more affordable hardware configurations in future updates.