The all-new Echo Buds are available in Black or Glacier White starting at $119.99, and will be available for a limited time starting at $99.99. Those who live in places where Amazon exists will also receive six months of Amazon Music Unlimited and Audible Plus for free. The important thing for those who have bought the original Echo Buds, and those who are actively looking for new true wireless earbuds, is that these are 20% smaller, lighter, have even better sound, and offer new, custom-designed, Active Noise Cancellation technology.
And of course, they support hands-free Alexa on-the-go. When no one else is listening, users can ask out loud to get playlists and podcasts, make calls, get updates on public transportation status, find their buds, and more. The also new, redesigned compact case now offers wireless charging capabilities.
"The all-new Echo Buds are better in so many ways — a smaller design, a more comfortable fit, Active Noise Cancellation technology, a new color and wireless charging option, and high-performance drivers for dynamic audio," says Tom Taylor, Senior Vice President, Amazon Alexa. "It’s never been easier for customers to bring Alexa with them throughout their day — whether at home, walking the neighborhood, or commuting to work, all they have to do is ask to play music or podcasts, call to check in on a loved one, add an item to their to-do list, and so much more."
The second-generation Amazon Echo Buds are IPX4-rated to withstand splashes, sweat, or light rain and have a new design to be comfortable enough for all-day wear. Compared to the earlier effort, a shortened nozzle improves comfort and new built-in vents reduce ear pressure during use, making the earbuds feel more natural in the ear. With four ear tip sizes and two wing tip sizes, users can tailor the fit to what's most comfortable for them and during set-up, the easy Ear Tip Fit Test will confirm if users have a proper seal.
New Active Noise Cancellation
Built with a high-performance driver in each earbud, Amazon says the new Echo Buds deliver better sound with extended dynamic range. The new premium drivers "are optimized for increased fidelity in bass and treble, which reduces distortion during media playback, delivering vibrant melodies and clear spoken word," as the company colorfully describes.
Amazon also details they have applied new Active Noise Cancellation technology, allowing the all-new Echo Buds to cancel twice as much noise compared to the first generation. The technology uses the inner and outer microphones to intelligently estimate sound pressure in the eardrum — which directly correlates to how the user hears the sound around him — to generate the inverse of that signal and cancel out unwanted noise, helping you stay immersed in your audio.
To turn on Active Noise Cancellation, the user simply presses and holds either earbud or just says, “Alexa, turn on noise cancellation.” When the user wants to hear what’s going on around him, it can enable Passthrough Mode with a press and hold on either earbud or by saying, “Alexa, turn on Passthrough.” With Passthrough Mode on, it's also possible to easily adjust the amount of ambient sound through the device settings in the Alexa app.
As Amazon strongly reminds us, these products are not meant to compete with similar offerings but are effectively an extension of Amazon's service ecosystem, accessible through Alexa. With Echo Buds, users can ask Alexa for anything, speaking to the air in front of them and making weird faces while doing it, or they can just press the buds and pretend they are security guards or spies on a mission.
And Alexa will properly listen to what the users has to say. The onboard microphones in each earbud are optimized to capture lower frequencies compared to the prior generation, so not only is Alexa able to hear us better, but call quality is also improved. And if we misplace our Echo Buds before a conference call, and can simply say, "Alexa, find my buds" to another Alexa-enabled device — or press a button in our device settings via the Alexa app — and, if the Echo Buds are nearby, we will hear an audible chime - just like the AirPods do.
Later this year, Amazon says that users will be able to use a VIP Filter on the all-new Echo Buds. Introduced on the Amazon Echo Frames glasses, VIP Filter is a feature that allows users to select the phone notifications that they want to hear, and filter out the rest. When we receive a notification, we can just double tap either earbud to hear it in real-time, or use a single tap on either earbud to dismiss it. This also supports calendars and group messaging.
In the US, Amazon also added support for public transit services in major cities, such as New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Jersey City, and Philadelphia. Users can ask Alexa for directions to the nearest train station or point of interest, or say “Alexa, what’s the status of the Q train?” to receive an update on a specific bus or train. Public transit support will expand to other major US cities gradually.
The new redesigned Echo Buds offer up to five hours of music playback on a single charge with Active Noise Cancellation and hands-free access to Alexa, while the compact case provides two additional charges for a total of up to 15 hours of music playback. A 15-minute quick charge will offer up to two hours of music playback. To check the battery status while wearing Echo Buds, the users simply needs to ask, "Alexa, what’s my battery life?” Or, open the case while the Echo Buds are inside and the new LED lights in front of each earbud will show the battery status. Echo Buds can be charged via USB-C or a Qi-certified wireless charging pad like the all-new Made for Amazon Anker PowerWave Pad for Echo Buds (sold separately).
While this a TWS designed optimize for virtual assistant interactions, the Echo Buds connect to Alexa through the Alexa app on any mobile device and uses the existing device data plan to access features such as music, calling, and more. For those users who don't want to have Alexa listening to their conversations - or if they a wife or daughter called Alexa - there is the ability to mute the mics with the Alexa app or through the customizable onboard tap controls. And users can also set the onboard tap controls to access other native voice services from the smartphone, like Siri or Google Assistant.
Amazon confirms that the all-new Echo Buds will begin shipping to customers in the US in May 2021 - $119.99 for the USB-C wired charging option, or $139.99 for wireless charging. For a limited time only, the USB-C wired charging option will be available for only $99.99 and the wireless charging option will be available for $119.99.
www.amazon.com
