Amazon’s new smart glasses deliver open-air audio and smart home control from anywhere

Echo Frames (3rd Gen) smart glasses

Alongside the reveal of Amazon’s new Echo Show 8 and upgraded Fire 10 HD tablet, it also introduced its new smart glasses. The Echo Frames (3rd Gen), available in sunglasses, prescription or blue light filtering variants, are the brand’s next generation smart glasses complete with the updated conversational Alexa experience in tow alongside expanded battery life and more. While still listed as “coming soon” at the time of writing, you can head below for a complete breakdown of what the new Echo Frames (3rd Gen) smart glasses have in-store. 

Echo Frames (3rd Gen) smart glasses – ‘See sound differently’

Alongside the updated Alexa action, the new smart glasses experience is centered around Amazon’s open-ear audio setup. Amazon says they will allow you to enjoy audio “without the discomfort of headphones” by way of a custom-built higher performance speaker driver and redesigned open-ear audio tech. They, according to Amazon, deliver 3x the bass of the previous generation Echo Frames alongside an optimized dipole configuration “to more accurately direct sound to your ears without covering them, while also minimizing what others around you can hear.” You can leverage open-ear calling without pulling out your phone, as well as listen to audio books and music without having to jam earbuds in the side of your head – I never really minded doing that but Amazon seems to think you might. 

With Alexa onboard, you’ll be able to make use of voice commands to “play music, podcasts, or Audible books from some of your favorite streaming apps” as well as “check to see if you locked the front door, turn on/off lights, and set your thermostat when you’re away from home.” They clock in with six hours of continuous media playback or up to 14 hours with what Amazon calls moderate usage – “moderate usage includes 2 hours 30 minutes of media playback, 1 hour of talk time, 20 Alexa interactions, and 90 incoming notifications, all intermittently throughout the day.”

Ask Alexa to play the perfect playlist while on the go, make a call without stopping to look at your phone, hear the barista call out your coffee order without having to pause your Audible book. Even check to see if you locked the front door from a thousand miles away—and look good while doing it.

Amazon says the Echo Frames (3rd Gen) are made of high quality acetate with German engineered spring hinges and premium metal tone finishes with IPX4 water and sweat resistance

There is no release date set on the new smart glasses just yet, but pricing starts at $270 with the blue light models at $300 and the polarized sunglasses variant at $330

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