I lived with Alexa on my face for 2 weeks and I did not hate it

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Beginning at $269, the Amazon Echo Frames (third Gen) are a pure means for glasses wearers to manage their good dwelling, talk with family and friends, and take heed to audio wherever and each time.
• The most recent mannequin contains a lighter construct, longer battery life, improved audio system, and new controls that may take some getting used to.
• Whereas Alexa in your ears is not any ChatGPT voice assistant, it is succesful sufficient to reply common questions and full most good dwelling duties.

The headline for this text might’ve gone some ways — I wore Amazon’s Echo Frames at an airport and the TSA did not cease me or These good glasses let me take calls at CES hands-free — however I settled with “Alexa on my face” as a result of that is the use case most individuals will possible have for the newest good glasses from Amazon. It is not as bizarre because it sounds, I promise.

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With these being the corporate’s third technology of Echo Frames, Amazon’s made principally iterative updates — the construct is lighter, the battery lasts longer, and there is supposedly extra bass — whereas staying true to the glasses’ unique function: Providing you with a direct (and pure) communication path with Amazon’s standard voice assistant, Alexa.

You are able to do different issues with the glasses too, after all, as I will element in my two-week account of carrying the Echo Frames under.

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Within the hierarchy of good glasses, you possibly can consider the Echo Frames because the entry-level pair, very best for customers who need one thing discrete however with simply sufficient expertise to scratch that shopper itch. I’ve worn a number of too many pairs of good glasses over the previous 12 months, and these from Amazon will be the most normal-looking of all of them. That is a superb factor, as I discovered throughout my flight to CES in early January.

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Wanting to check each the Echo Frames and the Meta Ray-Ban throughout my journey, I went by the same old safety screenings and located myself stopped twice as a result of my camera-equipped Meta glasses regarded suspicious. Nobody questioned the Echo Frames, which, even from up shut, seem like an everyday pair of plastic-made prescriptions. (Or possibly nobody anticipated me to have two pairs of good glasses. I am undecided.)

True to Amazon’s phrase, the Echo Frames really feel very mild on the face, with many of the weight distributed to the edges of the frames, the place the audio system, buttons, and different minuscule elements are saved. The rubberized recommendations on the ends of the glasses definitely assist with the match, although I’ve discovered it more durable to fold the glasses after adjusting them. 

Whereas the glasses are simply saved within the included carrying case, if they are not folded correctly, points come up when you could cost them. As a result of, not like the Meta Ray-Ban’s USB-C carrying case, there is a new separate charging dock for the Echo Frames, and aligning the wi-fi charging coils with those on the glasses will be fairly the doozy. You both need to power the glasses into the hole — which appears like one thing you would not need to do with glasses — or collapse and slot them in excellent. 9 occasions out of 10, I am doing possibility one.

When it comes to performance, the Echo Frames do not have multimodal AI cameras constructed into them just like the Meta Ray-Ban or challenge visible overlays like XR glasses. As an alternative, they will stream Bluetooth audio, take calls and ship textual content messages, learn notifications, and talk with Alexa-supported good dwelling units like how your cellphone or good hub usually would. Once more, entry-level glasses — and that is not a nasty factor.

Additionally: Meta’s $299 Ray-Ban good glasses will be the most helpful gadget I’ve examined all 12 months

Whereas my home will not be as good as my ZDNET colleague Maria Diaz’s, I loved utilizing the Echo Frames to activate and off varied good switches, which saved me from having to stroll over to my cellphone and use an app when it is charging within the kitchen or on my nightstand. The dimensions of Alexa-compatible units is massive sufficient that I might make instructions to safe my three-year-old August entry lock, too.

In addition to the good options, I’ve additionally loved listening to podcasts and making calls throughout my night walks. Maybe it is the power to take heed to my on-device audio whereas staying conscious of my environment, or the truth that the audio system on the Echo Frames favor the mid and excessive frequencies greater than the bassy, engulfing lows. It is most likely a little bit of each. The takeaway is that the glasses are nice for vocal-only audio tracks and satisfactory for something multi-layered.

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Lastly, I want the button navigations weren’t so difficult, however since I am primarily utilizing voice instructions to get issues performed, the necessity to press the entrance or again button to simply accept and decline issues (or mute the microphone) did not trouble me all that a lot. Should you’re coming from an older pair of Echo Frames, you will need to retrain your muscle reminiscence because the contact strip and swipe gestures are not any extra.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

At a beginning value of $269, the Echo Frames (third Gen) aren’t essentially priced to compete. They’re simply $30 lower than Meta’s extra succesful Ray-Ban good glasses. 

However there are two huge issues that Amazon’s glasses have going for them: Alexa integration and design. Sensible dwelling lovers will completely reap the advantages of getting a controller that they will use always (with a battery life that may final all of them day), and first-time good glasses buyers will discover these a lot much less intimidating than those with mini projectors and cameras inbuilt. Plus, you will have a smaller probability of being stopped by the TSA.