Apart from smart speakers, so-called
"hearables" are one of the fastest-growing tech industries right now,
so of course, Amazon wants a piece of that for itself and the almost
omnipresent Alexa voice assistant.
The highly anticipated Echo Buds, just like the
freshly unveiled Echo Studio, start at a significantly lower price than Apple's
option. Then again, unlike the HomePod, people actually buy AirPods in
market-dominating numbers, so even at US$ 129, Amazon's first-ever in-house
wireless headphones will face an uphill struggle achieving what Echos have
managed to do in the last few years.
The Echo Buds are also not the only AirPods rivals
to come with either a (technically) superior list of features or lower price
point from a giant such as Amazon. But they might just be the most affordable
to include noise cancellation, a key feature that Apple has yet to bake into
its own-brand or even costlier Beats-branded earbuds.
You probably don't have to worry about Amazon's lack
of experience in the premium audio field impacting the quality of this noise
reduction technology, which the company borrowed from Bose, one of the most
respected names in the market. That's right, you get Bose's industry-leading
noise cancellation in a sleek US$ 129 pair of wireless earbuds that can
purportedly last up to five hours on a single charge themselves, with a
standard case boosting the number to a respectable (albeit not mind-blowing) 20
hours of endurance.
While Alexa will naturally be at your disposal
without having to lift a finger, Amazon is far more inclusive than Google or
Apple when it comes to competing apps and services, allowing future Echo Buds
owners to summon Siri or Google Assistant on their connected handsets by simply
long tapping the headphones. Meanwhile, a quick double tap will enable and
disable the aforementioned noise reduction functionality as a convenient way to
stay in touch with the surrounding world if you so choose.
Available in a black color only, the Echo Buds
should also sound pretty great for their price tag, at least according to
Amazon, which claims two "premium, balanced armature drivers" mounted
on each earbud can deliver "crisp, clear vocals, and dynamic bass."
