In a way, we suppose we shouldn’t be surprised – Amazon’s continued infusion of Alexa into many of its smart home hardware and consumer electronics products has proven to be a wise move, serving a double purpose of establishing Amazon’s reach into the smart home setup game, all the while giving consumers and brand loyalists access to essential Amazon services and software.
One thing to note with most smart wearables (particularly glasses) is that a lot of them tend be bulky in their overall size and shape, due to the amount of hardware that’s packed in them – this includes speakers, microphones, batteries, and more. With that in mind, Amazon recently took to stage to announce its new Echo Frames and Carrera Smart Eyewear Collection, which gives users access to ambient technology on the go while keeping things stylish, with a more “natural” look for the wearables.
Improvements to Design
This isn’t Amazon’s first barbecue with smart-powered visual wearables though – according to Amazon, market reception towards the first-generation Echo Frames was positive thanks to features like instant access to Alexa, phone calls, and integration with connected devices, although users were interested in seeing a bit more variety in terms of frame styles, as well as longer battery life. As a result, extra emphasis was given towards the design of the new Echo Frames. Jean Wang, Director of Smart Eyewear at Amazon states:
“Choosing the right eyewear is about so much more than just finding a pair of glasses to help with vision correction— it’s a reflection of your unique personality and style. With smart eyewear, it’s important for customers to feel and look great with the world’s best personal AI that instantly connects, entertains, and helps you be even more productive. That’s why we’ve completely redesigned our Echo Frames and added two styles by Carrera, providing customers with more options at the intersection of fashion and technology.”
For this year’s Echo Frame launch, Amazon worked with Carrera, a brand that specialises in designer eyewear, allowing for more varied possibilities in terms of aesthetics. The new glasses come in seven different options, including two designs by Carrera Eyewear of Safilo Group—Modern Rectangle, Rectangle, Round, Square, Cat Eye, Carrera Cruiser, and Carrera Sprinter, all of which Amazon says are designed to give more of a natural feel when worn by users.
Like most other “regular” glasses, the new Echo Frames will come with more traditional features in addition to their smart capabilities, such as the option of sunglass lenses with UV400 protection, prescription-ready lenses, blue light lenses, and such. Amazon also states that this year’s Echo Frames are scratch resistant, and come with a bit of water resistance thanks to IPX4 certification.
More Tech Inside
As for the more “techy” side of things, Amazon says that the new Echo Frames now features up to 40% more continuous audio playback compared to its predecessor, and up to 80% more talk time versus the previous generation. The new glasses also feature QoL improvements, including support for double-press playback and multipoint pairing, to name a couple.
playback on a full battery charge—up to 40% more continuous audio playback and 80% more continuous talk time than the previous generation. And, these smart glasses are packed with convenient features, like starting a playlist with a double-press of a button and multipoint pairing. There’s also custom-built speech processing onboard, which enhances Alexa wake word performance, as well as double the volume for better-sounding calls in noisy surroundings.
Other features include VIP Filter, which gives users access to notifications from priority contacts and apps without needing to check their phone, easy location which uses Alexa tp ping your glasses’ last known location in case you misplace them, and improved privacy features such as double-press to mute, and full control over user voice recordings.
Pricing and Availability
Amazon says that the new Echo Frames and Carrera Smart Glasses with Alexa collection starts at $269.99, and interested buyers can also sign up on the details page to be find out when they can pre-order the new glasses. Additionally, the new Echo Frames were announced alongside several other Amazon products, including the new Echo Show 8 and Echo Hub, Fire HD 10 series tablets, and a new Ring camera.
