Amazon Announces Echo Buds With Alexa And Bose Active Noise Cancellation For $129
Amazon says that the Echo Buds promise true, hands-free access to Alexa while at the same time delivering premium sound. Each earbud is equipped with dual "balanced" armature drivers to "deliver crisp, clear vocals, and dynamic bass". For those that want to let some ambient noise in to stay more attuned to your surroundings (i.e. running in a big, traffic-packed city), a double tap allows you to turn off the noise cancellation feature.
As you might expect, accessing the digital assistant is as simple as saying "Alexa" and then going forward with your voice request. You don't have to press a button to access Alexa, but a tap and hold gesture on one of the earbuds will call up either Siri (iOS) or the Google Assistant (Android) on your connected smartphone.
Although we wouldn't recommend taking the Echo Buds though a torrential rainstorm, Amazon does say that they are IPX4 rated which is good enough to resist your sweat or light splashes of water. Onto the important specification regarding runtimes, Amazon says that the Echo Buds will last for up to 5 hours per charge. However, the included charging base boasts total runtime to 20 hours.
Unfortunately, Amazon made no mention of the rumored fitness-tracking features during today’s presentation.
Like the other Alexa-enabled devices that Amazon released today, the Echo Buds are currently available for pre-order and are priced at $129.
