By will-buy
Amazon has started taking pre-orders for the Echo Frames smart glasses, graduating the wearable from the First day Editions pilot program with new and upgraded features. Meanwhile, the Echo Loop smart ring has flunked this program, and Amazon is ending its production and sale. The Frames and Loop were the very first devices Amazon signed up for your day 1 Editions program after debuting in Amazon’s 2023 hardware show.
Alexa Eyes
The Echo Frames essentially graft Alexa to a set of glasses. The lenses are just glass, although there is an option to change them out for prescription lenses. The “smart” element is entirely audio, with small microphones and speakers built into the glasses that let the wearer communicate with Alexa. Wearers can activate the voice assistant by saying “Alexa” or pressing on the side of the glasses. The Frames connect by Bluetooth to Alexa app on the wearer’s smartphone and can be used to speak with Siri or Google Assistant on iOS or Android phones, respectively. The microphone may also be turn off by double-tapping along the side of the glasses. Although the new Frames look basically the same as the first version, Amazon has expanded the color options beyond black, adding blue and tortoiseshell varieties.
The colors were just one way Amazon responded to feedback from people testing the Frames over the last year. The second iteration of Frames should really last as much as 40% longer during playback and automatically turn off after three seconds when flipped and set down by the wearer, further improving battery life. When worn, the Frames can automatically adjust the level of sounds from its speakers based on the noise level around the user, upping it when the user is in a noisy place. Wearers can set up a filter so that notifications and messages will only play from specific people and apps. The brand new form of the Frames can also connect the smart glasses to calendars and group messages. During the pilot, The glasses sold for $180 but now cost $250. Owners of the first form of the Frames can purchase they for $70, creating the price difference. The Frames start shipping on Dec. 10.
“In creating Echo Frames, we'd an image at Amazon to invent something that would empower people to keep in touch using the world and supply access to communication, information, and entertainment no matter where they are. We wanted to build a technology that may disappear into the background help our customers build relationships people, content, and services, without distracting them as soon as,” Echo Frames director Jean Wang wrote in a article concerning the new smart glasses. “Nestled within the temples, open-ear audio directs sound toward your ears, so you can ask Alexa to create a telephone call, listen to music, take control of your smart home, hear notifications, and more-all while keeping your ears uncovered. It is the better of both worlds-personal audio with the magic of Alexa when you want it, while still being able to tune in to the world around you.”
Framing the Future
While the crash-and-burn of Google Glass famously set back smart glasses like a market, they're on the rise. Audio-only smart glasses that may be in direct competition towards the Echo Frames are mushrooming, like the Bose Frames, Huawei’s Eyewear II, and the Vue Lite. Smart glasses with holographic and other visual components are also beginning to spread. Bing is clearly going to make another attempt after acquiring North, the manufacturers of Focals by North smart glasses, at the end of June. North's portfolio included many patents acquired from Intel in 2023 for the canceled Vaunt smart glasses, which the company integrated into its very own product, and which Google will doubtless find useful. Facebook is supposedly dealing with Ray-Ban on smart glasses with AR too, and details about Apple's plans for smart glasses with displays in the lenses leaked captured.
Loopy Ideas
The Loop and Frames were just two 16 Alexa-enabled devices Amazon showcased in the 2023 event alongside the Echo Buds earbuds, Echo Show 8 smart display, and Amazon Smart Oven, among others. The 2 devices acted as test subjects for Amazon’s wearable tech pipeline. Your day 1 Editions program required interested users to request the chance to purchase the devices, charging them for that opportunity to give Amazon valuable feedback on whether to scale up their production and how to improve them for universal sales. 
The Echo Loop was definitely more a bigger swing than the Echo Frames. A $180 finger ring with microphones along with a tiny speaker to talk with a voice assistant as well as make telephone calls doesn’t have quite as obvious a market niche as smart glasses. Though seemingly designed by Amazon as the second method of getting people to use the Alexa app on their smartphone, smart glasses and smartwatches probably won’t lose any customers to smart ring owners. That doesn’t mean the pilot would be a mistake, according to Amazon.
“We many userful stuff here about how customers desire to use Alexa for short, snackable content during the day, and we will take by using us as we continue to invent new customer experiences,” Wang wrote. “Customers who purchased Echo Loop will continue to receive updates and support, and may use their devices as they do today.”
Continuing support for that Loop means Amazon continues to gather data, always a consideration for the company. Loop owners who like the ring will be pleased, even when they hate the ring. Cutting out sales and manufacturing helps make the Loop a limited edition device, yet one that’s still functional. A fast check on eBay has got the Loop selling for at least $250, more for unopened boxes.
