Echo Frames – Amazon's smart glasses with Alexa

February 24, 2020

Last week Amazon unveiled many Echo products featuring Alexa; Echo Frames is one of them.

The Echo Frames are the first smart glasses from Amazon. These glasses are a bit of the ultimate product fitted with Alexa. The brand is also trying to find a balance between practicality and confidentiality. A button on the glasses deactivates the microphones and Echo Frames does not have a camera.

This product is considered experimental. The Echo Frames glasses will be available by invitation at a price of $ 179.99. Amazon explains that customers will be able to buy them with corrective lenses or even sunglasses.

Echo frames are designed to be discreet and to look like your pair of basic, thick-rimmed glasses. Indeed, the stems on each side are visibly very thick. Despite everything, Echo Frames glasses are light and comfortable when they are on your head. Amazon explains that the Echo Frames weigh 31 grams. They are made from "TR-90, carbon fiber and titanium", with acetate tips that can be adjusted by opticians.

The glasses pair with your Android phone to read notifications, make phone calls, and play audio; including music and podcasts. You can also ask Alexa for a summary of your calendar, news, weather, and the usual things you expect. A "VIP" filter will allow users to choose which notifications they want to read out loud and which should stay on their phone for later. However, Amazon says that iOS is not supported at this time.

The directional speakers (there are two in each branch) provide clear sound. For battery life, Amazon estimates 3 hours of audio playback, which is not unusual, and 14 hours of standby time.

Amazon does not position the Echo Frames as a glimpse of future personal technology; they lack a display for augmented reality features; what we find on North Focals smart glasses or Google Glass.

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