Amazon's $ 180 Echo glasses are the first take of Alexa's smart glasses

Amazon enters the field of smart glasses with the Echo Frames, the company announced to his Alexa event Wednesday.

The Echo frames are part of Amazon's "Day One Editions," a comprehensive but limited-offer experimental product program, said Dave Limp, senior vice president of devices and services, at the time. event. Smart glasses have no head-up screen or camera, but only built-in microphones and a small speaker access to Alexa on the move.

The glasses look like normal glasses, but discreetly express Alexa's answers to your questions through tiny speakers. You can also slide the side of the glasses to get more information, set reminders, and use your smart home gear on the go. Echo frames can be linked to your phone, allowing you to receive alerts through the glasses. A VIP filter setting allows you to choose the notifications you want to receive via the glasses. So, you will not be overwhelmed by all types of messages or calls if you do not want it.

The Echo frames will be available with or without a prescription, and weigh only 1.1 ounces (31 grams), the same price as ordinary glasses, Limp said at the event.

Limp does not mention any augmented reality feature, but this simplicity could make it a more practical everyday product than, for example, Google Glass – a simpler way to use Alexa on the go and keep your hands free than ever before. 39, a revolutionary method of experiencing the world around you. Echo executives, as well as new advertised Echo buds ear buds and Echo loop smart ring, marks the first time that Amazon is taking serious steps in the world of apparel equipment, offering users the opportunity to take Alexa with them at any time.

The glasses are now available by invitation only, priced at $ 180. They are American only for the moment.

This is not Amazon's first foray into the world of smart glasses: at CES 2018, the company announced the Vuzix Blade AR smart glasses with Alexa integration. These $ 999 glasses are aimed at a business audience, where smart glasses have been adopted more widely. Google Glass has attempted to offer a set of smart consumer glasses in 2013, but the company has rotated Glass to commercial use in 2017.

However, Echo executives will probably not be the only ones on the market for the general population: Last year, Bose released smart glasses with an audio component, which speak the same way aloud with the help of built-in speakers in their arms. The code found in Apple's newly released iOS 13 mobile software suggests to support anti-UV glasses or headphones, although no official announcement has been made. Facebook also has the pieces in place to possibly release a AR helmet or smart glasses, although does not seem to be in a hurry to do it.

Amazon could be one of the first companies to market this technology to consumers, which would give it a decisive advantage. However, it will have to address a number of privacy issues raised by the potential for even more Alexa integration into people's daily lives.

According to a report released in August by CCS Insight, shipments of anti-glare glasses are expected to exceed 150,000 in 2019 and reach 2.7 million devices in 2023. These glasses will begin to gain ground among consumers in the next few years, predicts the company, especially as technology giants start producing them.

To learn more, read our detailed article Lost Explorers: The unrealized vision of Google Glass.

Originally released Sept. 25 at 11:21 Pacific Time.
Updates at 11:52 Pacific Time: Add features and prices for Echo frames; September 26, 6:01 am PT: adds information about VIP filters, echo buds, and echo loop information.