Amazon bolsters Echo Frames lineup with new styles, hands-free texting for iOS, more

Earlier today, Amazon unveiled several new styles of Echo Frames. The releases include Quartz Gray and Pacific Blue, but there are also a couple of new Modern Tortoise variants as well. Each of the new designs come in the form of sunglasses or with lenses that filter blue light. They can also be purchased with clear lenses that allow you to benefit from having Alexa, even if you don’t usually wear glasses. As with styles that preceded today’s launch, clear lenses can easily be popped out and replaced with a prescription. New and existing Echo Frames users will also benefit from features packed into a free software update. Continue reading to learn more.

Amazon improves Echo Frames with new styles and features

With an increasing number of earbuds, smart glasses, and other types of wearable technology leaning into virtual assistants, it’s no surprise see Amazon continuing to invest in its Echo Frames lineup. Not only has the company broadened the number of available styles to choose from, it has also unleashed a software update that adds several new and useful features.

Wearers of Echo Frames will now be able to choose a priority contact that can be called by simply long-pressing the touchpad. Additionally, automatic volume now adjusts whenever changes in ambient noise are detected. Prior to this, it would only happen once at the start of a listening session. Other improvements include the ability to swap the “Alexa” wake word to “Echo” in addition to the promise that iOS users will gain access to the hands-free text messaging feature “in the coming months” that’s been available on Android for quite some time.

Pricing and availability

List pricing for the latest iterations of prescription-ready Echo Frames start at $249.99, while upgraded sunglasses and blue-light filtering solutions cost $269.99. All new styles are now available for pre-order and will launch on November 10.

• Modern Tortoise with blue-light-filtering lenses
• Modern Tortoise with brown polarized sunglass lenses
• Pacific Blue with blue-light-filtering lenses
• Pacific Blue with prescription ready frames
• Pacific Blue with polarized sunglass lenses
• Quartz Gray with black sunglass lenses
• Quartz Gray with blue-light-filtering lenses
• Quartz Gray with prescription ready frames

9to5Toys’ Take

If you’re someone that already wears glasses or don’t think you’ll mind the look and feel, there’s never been a better time to take Echo Frames for a spin. There’s something to be said for always having a couple of personal speakers at your disposal without needing to wear earbuds. Plus, you’ll always have Alexa by your side, which is bound to come in handy, given how powerful Amazon’s voice assistant has become.

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