By Greg Bensinger
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Amazon unveiled two new devices on Thursday for listening to and recording people’s information throughout the day to offer calendar reminders and other AI-driven insights under the Bee brand it acquired last year.
Frontier is a bracelet and Eclipse is a brick that resembles a portable magnetic charger. Users attach the Eclipse to their smartphones. The devices aggregate information from calendars, apps and other data throughout the day, Amazon said.
The Frontier bracelet costs $75 and the Eclipse $100, Amazon said.
“They listen to your whole day,” said Amazon devices chief Panos Panay at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco. “It reminds you of the conversations you had, it reminds you of to-dos that you may have had, it tells you that you have some action items that you committed to other people.”
USERS CONTROL PRIVACY: AMAZON
He said that because the devices are always listening when turned on, users do not have to make reminders for themselves and “can stay more present” throughout the day. The company said users control privacy by deciding when to turn it on and can delete insights or prior conversations as they see fit. Amazon does not store audio.
The company faced criticism after reports in 2019 that thousands of people were listening to conversations people had with its Alexa voice assistant service. It is facing a class action lawsuit over the practice. Amazon has denied any wrongdoing.
Bee will retain data for 14 days, though users can extend that by paying for a $12-per-month subscription. The devices can also connect to Alexa+, Amazon’s subscription generative AI voice service.
Amazon’s Bee will face competition in AI wearables, notably Meta’s Muse Charm, a pendant using the company’s latest agentic AI software, and its eyeglasses with cameras and other sensors. A host of startups have also developed similar devices, designed to record conversations and take action on behalf of users.
In recent weeks, Amazon has announced a flurry of new gadgets, part of Panay’s effort to attract buyers willing to spend more for higher quality and durability. A slate of tablets Amazon announced last week costs as much as three times more than prior versions, despite slowing global sales of the portable computers.
Reuters reported earlier this year that Amazon is considering a return to the smartphone market about a decade after the release of its failed Fire Phone.
(Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by David Gregorio and Rod Nickel)
