Korekorekorekorekorekorekorekore!The only way to proceed with modern Meganez Mart, Amazon's "Echo Frames" is only expected!

This! This is it!

2019 Amazon new product just announced. Out of the many, the one I'm personally most interested in is "Echo Frames." This is the way smart glasses should go!

Echo Frames are hearing-focused smart glasses. I'm wearing glasses, but I'm not visual. Glasses can become smart only when they are extended to the sense of hearing. This is where the early smart glasses went wrong in the first place. Wrong, I can say that the consumer's senses are (yet) not ready for the drama of eyeglass augmentation. That's why hearing! ear! Yay Yay!

Now, as a writer for Gizmodo, I'm a very conservative and cold person. So if you just saw Amazon's announcement, you probably had a "whoosh" impression of the Echo Frames. That is Korekorekorekorekorekoreeeeeee! The reason why I got excited is that I was very impressed by touching the "Bose Frames", which seems to have been greatly influenced by this Echo Frame. When I was in America, I used them quite often and was a respectable Bose Frames user.

Echo Frames = Glasses with integrated earphones

Before talking about the impressive Bose Frames, what exactly are Amazon Echo Frames? Echo Frames are glasses-shaped earphones. It is a hybrid item of glasses and earphones. Connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth and use it in conjunction with the Alexa app. A speaker and a microphone are embedded in the temples of the glasses, so you can enjoy music and calls through the glasses.

Echo Frames have four speakers, two on each side, which are the key to Amazon Open-Ear technology that delivers sound directly to the user without being distracted by surrounding sounds. All items announced by Amazon this time are common, and of course Echo Frames are compatible with Alexa. Volume, playback stop, Alexa activation, microphone ON / OFF are also operated with buttons on the temple part. Battery life is supposed to last for a day, but it seems to be greatly affected by usage (music playback time, sound volume, etc.). As an example, 3 hours of continuous music playback (volume 60%). Compatible with Bluetooth 5.0. Compatible with Android 8.0 or higher, not compatible with iOS at this stage. So you can't use Siri, but you can use Google Assistant.

Clear rival of Echo Frames → Bose Frames

Bose Frames is a rival of Echo Frames, or rather, Amazon is conscious of Bose Frames. It has already been sold in the United States, but has not yet landed in Japan. The first time I touched Frames was at the Bose booth at SXSW in March of this year. Well, the moment I put it on, it felt like my head was pounding. It was glasses but it was a sound! Earphones with glasses! It is a wonderful idea that the glasses play a dual role in a different sense of hearing, rather than expanding the sense of sight. I was impressed that it was an item that came from an audio manufacturer, not a tech company. The Bose booth was the most excited at SXSW 2019! (No, it's a lie. The real number one was when Shim Liu, the actor who plays Shang-Chi in the new Marvel movie coming out in 2021, passed me on the street and took a photo with me. The Bose booth is number two! )

This is it with Bose Frames! I'm convinced that Amazon followed suit because I had the experience of thinking. It's trendy, it's going mainstream. With the arrival of Echo Frames, expectations for the smart frame industry have increased.

Bose 'Frames' hands-on: Bose may be the first smart glasses to succeed... #SXSW2019

It's not a strange thing! The smart sunglasses "Bose Fra...

https://www.gizmodo.jp/2019/03/bose-frames-hands-on.html

Echo Frames VS. Bose Frames

What's the difference between rival Bose Frames and Echo Frames? Frankly, not so much. Both have speakers and microphones, no cameras or monitors. At first glance, it's the difference between sunglasses and glasses. Bose started with sunglasses (two models) and Echo with glasses (with or without degree). However, unlike Bose Frames, which are sold as finished sunglasses, the Echo is a style where prescription lenses are put in at an optician, so depending on the lenses you put in, it can be used as sunglasses, so it can be used widely. Also, members of the digital assistants that can be used. Echo is Alexa, Google Assistant, Bose is Siri, Google Assistant.

What I think Amazon is good at is the subtle difference in specs. The Bose weighs about 45 grams (1.58 ounces), while the Echo weighs a whopping 31 grams. While Bose is IPX2, Echo is IPX4 (sweat and some splashes are OK) and tough. And the price is the big deal. $199.95 for Bose. Echo is $179.99. However, the Echo is currently invitation-only, and the general sale is still ahead, and $ 179.99 is the invite-only pre-sale price. Expected to be $249.99 after the pre-order period ends. If so, the Echo will be more expensive, but I wonder if this is the cost of the frame material. The Echo's frame is made from TR-90, carbon fiber, and titanium. Bose is plastic. The reason Bose Frames are said to have a cheap feel to some people is probably because they are made of plastic, and the difference in materials also affects their appearance.

It's only if there are people who follow it

People who know the existence of Bose Frames might want to say, "It's an Amazon ripoff!" natural flow. At this recital, devices such as Echo Loop and Echo Buds that can be used outside the home have appeared. This is for Amazon to expand the playing field of Alexa. If so, it's only natural to pay attention to the glasses.

What follows, not a ripoff. The industry will thrive and the market will expand only if there are people who follow suit. I wouldn't be surprised if more companies come out in the future. I'm sure many companies are developing eyeglasses with built-in earphones. There is an order to send out to the world, but everyone is probably thinking about it. Tech companies that have long been skeptical of Bose's "no audio maker" are now frustrated by Amazon's follow-up. Of course, is it really possible to sell things like internal politics and technical level? It's not the time to say something like that. Now is the time to start running with your feet swirling like a man who dashes in manga. Personally, I have high hopes for glasses with integrated earphones.

Named "Frames"

I can understand Amazon's intentions following Bose, but as soon as I heard the announcement, I thought, "Naming! Hey, at least there!" But after thinking about it for a while, I agree. Whether it's Bose or Amazon, they're frames, not glasses. I'm sorry to keep calling you smart glasses, smart glasses, and spectacle glasses, but it's the frame part that's been made smarter. The development team focused on the part that hangs over the ear. Smart glasses and smart glasses are visual extensions, and smart frames can be regarded as a different genre of frame extensions. So the early smart glasses were wrong in the first place! I withdraw my blunt denial.

What I want to expect in the future is the type of design because of the frame. There are two types of Bose and only one type of Echo. Eyeglasses are items that make your face look flattering, so besides specs and technology, appearance plays a big part in the decision to purchase. It doesn't matter if it suits you or not! So, in addition to expanding the range of colors, frame sizes, and designs, we also have great expectations for collaborations with eyeglass manufacturers. Well, needless to say, if the market expands, there will be more collaboration products.

In summary, I have high hopes for Echo Frames!

Source: Amazon