Amazon's Echo Frames caught a lot of attention when they were announced under the company's Alexa-powered new products last year. Unlike Google's ill-fated Glass or Snapchat's Spectacles, Amazon's $ 250 specs (reduced to $ 180 by invitation only as part of the Day One Edition prelaunch) look largely like normal glasses. They also lack cameras, outward-facing lights, or a heads-up display.
Instead, the great appeal is the support for Alexa, who can summon the frames anywhere. This essentially frees Alexa from the limitations of a home speaker or app on your phone. In practice, however, the Day One Edition of Amazon Echo Frames is a beta product. If Amazon is to truly be a leader in smart glasses, it has to significantly improve the sound quality, build, and frame performance.
Otherwise there is a great risk for the Echo Frames that they will go to the technical cemetery with Glass, Spectacles and the others.
Echo frames look nice but feel cheap
With thick black glasses à la Tina Belcher, the Echo Frames are not for everyone. But they look modern and polished. The plastic arms, which housed components such as speakers, microphones, battery, and magnetic charging port, were light and comfortable, even after hours of wear.
And just like regular glasses, they fogged up when I stepped outside wearing a mask on a hot New York summer day. The frames are IPX4 certified, so all electronic components should be able to withstand sweat or splash water. That said, they're not waterproof, so you shouldn't take them to a pool or beach anyway.
Since the glasses I received didn't have prescription lenses, I wore mine with my contacts and they worked fine. The Echo frames can, however, be fitted with prescription lenses, with Amazon creating a small guide that you can take to a local optician. Amazon gets points here like some other audio-focused smart glasses, like those from Bose, with similar prices Frames Alto and Rondo sunglassesdon't have this option.
While the frames look reasonably good for $ 180 (or the regular $ 250 price after closing the invite window), Amazon needs to put more emphasis on build quality. The plastic feels cheap and fragile. I was also never able to close the glasses completely because the arms were so bulky and it looked uncomfortable and unbalanced.
The irony is that all of the other items included in the box give the impression of a premium product, including the leather goggles and braided charging cable. But even here the glasses feel like the cheapest in the package.
Battery life and control of echo frames
Aside from design, battery life isn't a forte, and even Amazon acknowledges this on its website, stating that "the battery life is optimized for everyday Alexa use". And longer playback times, such as music streaming, "drain the battery faster".
During my tests over the past few weeks, I've played a lot of music, made multiple calls, and asked Alexa a few questions. During this mix, I was able to use about 6 hours and 40 minutes of battery, although on days when I was streaming more music I did notice the battery drained faster.
You should keep the USB charging cable handy to make sure you can get through a full day. About a half an hour charge took me back to 60%, with Amazon claiming on their website that a full charge takes about 75 minutes.
When you say Alexa, a little blue light will appear above your right eye on the bridge of your nose and a chime will sound over the speakers to let you know they're listening.
At first I found the blue light distracting, but over time I got used to it. It also made for a few awkward encounters with my eyes on the frames themselves. To others around me, it looked like I just folded my eyes. To mute Alexa, double-click the power button under the right arm. A small red light will flash and Alexa will indicate it is muted, while a small charging light under your right arm will also turn red, not that you can see it while wearing the Echo frames.
Remember, muting the microphones on the glasses will mute the microphone for everything, including phone calls. Whenever I wanted to talk to someone, I had to remember to remove my glasses, which was a bit painful.
It's worth noting that you can call Siri or Google Assistant with your voice over the frames by saying "Hey Siri" (on an iPhone) or "OK, Google" (Android), or by pressing and holding a touchpad built into the right arm.
Alexa comes with you everywhere, but do you really need that?
The great attraction of the Echo Frames is of course not in their style, but in the technology. Now that Alexa has become a mainstay in millions of households, she really pulls out of the house with the frames. But that's nothing like Jarvis in the Iron Man films. In the frames, Amazon's intelligent assistant really isn't much better than Siri.
When connected to an iPhone or Android phone via Bluetooth, it can make audio calls, play music, set timers, and answer questions (such as "What's the weather like"). The Echo Frames also leverage Alexa skills and control smart devices so they can turn on compatible smart lights or a TV.
Granted, it's nice to ask out loud if it's going to rain when you see ominous clouds and then get an answer right away. I also like being able to ask for random facts (e.g. a sports result) without having to take out my phone. Alexa also calls my contacts fine (although they can't send an iMessage, initiate a video call, or connect to WhatsApp). In general, I am not convinced that the smart assistant is doing enough to warrant buying the frames unless you are a big Alexa user.
Unlike Google Glass, which has a small heads-up display to show information and a camera to capture the world around you, for example, Echo Frames are audio only. This significantly limits their augmented reality potential in its current form, and I haven't yet found any Alexa skills designed for use on the go.
For some tasks, e.g. B. When I asked for directions, Alexa directed me to the Alexa app on my phone that opened Apple Maps. At that point it was no different than just grabbing my cell phone.
Alexa didn't even take care of the turn-by-turn navigation, but by default the Maps app, which gave voice instructions over bluetooth like headphones (I couldn't change the default mapping option in Google Maps either iOS).
Audio is passable, but not worth the price
Overall, the audio from the frames is mediocre, and if you're looking to use these as a replacement for headphones, your best bet is to look elsewhere. Amazon is promoting the Echo Frames with the "open-ear technology" which is marketing for small downward facing speakers next to your ears as opposed to buds in them.
Audio integration was one of the features of Echo Frames that I was most excited about when the specs were first announced, which makes the actual execution all the more disappointing.
Unlike the Bose frames, Amazon's specs use traditional speakers rather than newer technology like bone conduction, which pumps the audio vibrations through the skull into your ear.
This means that not only will your audio audience and the people around you be able to overhear if they're paying close enough attention, but the glasses will also sound a lot worse than AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones.
The frames have four speakers (two in each arm), but when I was playing music it often sounded hollow and thin, with the songs sounding like they were being cut off at a higher volume. The open-ear approach is a challenge to listening even while walking on a busy New York City street.
In comparison, not only did Bose's frames have significantly better audio quality, but the use of bone conduction also meant I had a lot more privacy when listening to others around me.
I have to say, however, that there was a ray of hope in the two microphones and I received no sound complaints from those I spoke to over FaceTime or traditional phone calls.
