Amazon Echo Frames are set to officially go on sale, and have been updated with new features ahead of a 10 December release.
The Echo Frames are Amazon’s Alexa-on-your-face play, and put the voice assistant into a regular pair of specs.
Unlike Google Glass they’re not AR, but work through four directional speakers built into each temple of the normal-looking glasses, letting you talk to Alexa without the people around you hearing the responses.
That means controlling your smart home, getting notifications, making calls and listening to music.
You can get eyewear professionals to get a set of prescription lenses (or sunglasses) so the Frames can replace your existing pair of specs.
The glasses themselves are made from carbon fibre and titanium, which should make them a lightweight pair of glasses to wear. They’re also rated IPX4 for fending off sweat and water and splash-resistant.
And there’s a smattering of new features landing for the official model.
The All-new Echo Frames will adjust the volume of content and feedback based on the ambent environment.
And battery life has been upped by 40%. That means roughly about 60 minutes of music, 30 minutes of phone calls and 120 incoming notifications over a 14 hour period.
And it’s easier to prevent battery drain with an auto-off feature that will turn off which the frames when placed upside down for three seconds.
The All-new Echo Frames, as Amazon is marketing them, will be on sale from 10 December and will cost $249.99.
In our initial time with the Echo Frames we said that “they do look good, but battery life and speaker quality are our biggest concerns.”
If you’re a glasses wearer they look fun to try out, but it’s a lot of money to have Alexa read out your notifications.
