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(CNN) –
Amazon enters the eyewear market. More than a year after the announcement of the Echo frames as part of the “Day One” invitation-only program, they are now available to everyone. Essentially, Amazon hid four speakers and a plethora of microphones in glasses. The result? You can use Alexa anywhere and everywhere – hands-free.
We spent over six months with the invite-only model and a week with the Echo frames (offering better battery life and improved sound than the old one) to see if they’re worth the $ 249 price tag.
Who they are for: If you’re looking for a way to bring the Alexa smart speaker experience on the go, Echo Frames will. By pairing with your smartphone, you get hands-free Alexa and the ability to control some major phone functions, all with your voice. They aren’t cheap at $ 249, however, and prescription carriers will have to fork out even more money to make them fully functional.
What would you like to know: Echo frames offer instant hands-free access to Alexa, the ability to play music, and take calls, among other tasks. You can just ask with your voice; no need to remove your phone. The speakers will push the sound towards your ears and the microphones will pick up your voice. It is an outdoor experience, and the sound is not hidden. At higher volumes, it’s safe to assume that others can hear them as well. You can also replace standard non-prescription lenses with prescription or blue light lenses.
How they compare: Echo frames go a step further than other smart wearable devices. Bose frames are designed for audio playback in an open-ear format, but offer minimal smart assistant controls. Snapchat Shows don’t provide playback, but they do allow you to capture first-person photos and videos. Echo frames go further than both, with a full smart assistant and deeper integrations with your phone.
First and foremost, Echo frames look like normal glasses. You get your choice of horizon blue, modern turtle, and classic black in a rectangular frame. Although comfortable, you are stuck with this sole design as your only option.
The technology that powers Echo Frames is mostly hidden in the thicker-than-normal arms, which house the batteries, connectivity, processor, speakers, microphones, and even storage. The right side houses an action button, volume rocker, and charging port.
There’s nothing front-facing that screams these are smart glasses, however. While we were testing, most colleagues and friends didn’t even notice a difference wearing them on video calls compared to our normal tasks.
The most surprising thing is the somewhat fragile feel of these. Amazon uses the seemingly appropriate materials – carbon fiber, aluminum, and a TR-90 plastic. All of this makes for a lightweight construction, but these have more flexibility than a pair of Warby Parker or Ray-Ban goggles. You can also flex the sides to a fairly strong degree. Shaking them sometimes makes an audible squeak – not the most reassuring sound. Fortunately, once on the head and worn out, they acquire some structural stability. We had no major issues with the construction even after dropping them and accidental bumps during the day.
Since the glasses don’t really take a day off, you’ll be happy that they have an IPX4 rating against water and sweat. We didn’t wear them in a pool or in the shower, but walking in a light snow shower or in the rain was no problem.
Like most glasses, these come with ready-to-use non-prescription lenses. This is a standard lens, and you can easily insert or remove them – which in our case made swapping out our prescription lenses easy. It was a simple click to take them out and then in. You can take Echo Frames to an optician for corrective or blue light lenses and they can make some adjustments for a more comfortable experience. In our case, we adjusted the ends so that they did not tip over our heads.
Amazon includes a hard carrying case for Echo frames. You’ll charge through the included cable, but there’s no way to charge them in this case, a feature we’re hoping Amazon will add in the next release. For now, however, it’s not the end of the world and the battery should get you through the day, even if it’s packed with music playback and plenty of calls. In our testing, we got the Echo frames up and running around 7:30 a.m. and only got a low-power alert around 9:30 p.m. You can easily charge them during a day and overnight while sleeping.
We discovered a strange truth after using Echo Frames for several months: we don’t need Alexa in our glasses every moment of every day, but it is surprisingly useful and it becomes a need. And that’s the main draw of those: instant access to Alexa.
You can use Amazon’s smart assistant to listen to messages, create a to-do list, listen to music, and even make calls. And we tested it all at home with minimal interaction with the outside world. We can walk around our apartment while wearing them and chat with Alexa. Sometimes it’s easier than reaching for a phone, especially when multitasking.
It’s just as responsive as it is on the Echo smart speakers and other devices. Faster than Google Assistant and Siri while knowing more random facts. You can get her attention by saying “Alexa” or engaging with the action button on the right side.
Echo Frames connect through your smartphone and are, in fact, attached to that connected device. There’s not much they can do – or, really, nothing – when they’re not connected. You’ll set up Echo Frames through your Android or iOS device, pairing through Bluetooth. If your phone is connected to the Internet, the Echo frames are connected. And everything is handled through the Alexa app on this phone. The setup did not take more than about 10 minutes. Our iPhone 12 Pro, 12 mini, Pixel 5 and Note 20 Ultra were able to find Echo frames in seconds.
We really like that it’s a completely hands-free experience. While we were cleaning the fridge, for example, we were able to ask Alexa to make a list and add the groceries we needed to it. We can ask Alexa to call mom so we can check in while we clean. And with these audible responses or commands, it is fast and above all precise.
Echo frames feature an open-ear speaker system that directs sound to your ears. The speakers are visible and located on the sides. It’s an average sound experience that’s fairly balanced but visibly lacks powerful bass. If you want a pair of glasses that excel with audio, check out Bose Frames. Since it’s all about streaming audio, there will inevitably be some sound leaks. When you play a song at a medium to higher volume, people around you will hear it. Most Alexa responses, notification reads, and calls, however, are at whispered levels.
Alexa is also smart enough to take control over executives rather than a nearby smart speaker. You can also mute the microphone on Echo frames at any time. There’s even a small LED indicator above the right eye (facing the wearer), which glows blue when Alexa is listening or red if the microphone is muted. It took a few days to get used to the glowing effect, and it didn’t turn out to be a distraction after that.
You also get some control over the notifications that hit echo frames. After all, you don’t want Alexa chatting in your ears all day. During setup, you can choose whether you want things to be read aloud or even engage a VIP filter. You can choose which apps will be read aloud. The other option is all of your notifications coming in – every email, game update, and stupid ping. And when the notifications come in, you can drag them to ignore them via the right side.
Echo frames aren’t for everyone. As gadget lovers, we are on board with them as a fun device that presents you with a test of the future. It’s kind of like a smartwatch – the tech is there if you want it, but if you don’t, they still work like a pair of glasses.
Having Alexa anywhere and everywhere is really good, but at $ 250 you’re clearly paying a premium – plus the cost of prescription or blue light lenses to make them fully functional.
If you’re in the tech camp, we think the Echo frames are worth a look. Ditto if you are a big fan of Alexa, as it is the easiest way to integrate Amazon Assistant into your daily life.
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