Meta Announces Muse Spark Open With Demanding Mac Memory Requirements

Muse Spark Open is downloadable, with a hardware hurdle

Meta announced Muse Spark Open on October 15, 2026. Engadget reports that the AI model is available to download from Hugging Face, but running it on local computers requires 1TB of RAM, or working memory.

According to Engadget, the model has 800 billion parameters—the learned values that shape its responses—and is optimized for Apple Silicon. It is an open-weight release, meaning those learned values are available to download for running the model.

Two Mac Studios, or a roughly $38,000 alternative

Meta says Muse Spark Open can run on two M5 Ultra Mac Studios using the latest MLX software framework. Its explanation describes each machine providing up to 512GB of unified memory, a shared pool of working memory.

Engadget reports another configuration: four M5 Ultra Mac Studios with 256GB each, costing roughly $38,000 in hardware. That makes the distinction between downloading the model and having the equipment to run it especially important for prospective users.

The two-machine option still has unresolved cost and timing. As of Engadget’s October 15 report, Apple had given a late-October availability window for the 512GB Mac Studio, without announcing a specific price or shipping date.

Performance claims come from Meta

Meta describes Muse Spark Open as the most capable U.S. open-weight model to date. Engadget reports that Meta’s benchmark tests suggest it outperforms GLM 5.3 and Kimi K3 on agentic tasks—tasks involving an AI taking steps toward a goal—and visual reasoning, or interpreting visual information. Those comparisons come from company-released tests.

For readers considering local use, the immediate question is hardware access and cost. The download is available, according to Engadget; Apple’s specific price and shipping date for the 512GB Mac Studio will help clarify the practicality of Meta’s two-machine setup.