Amazon has released two new AI-powered listening devices, the Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse, which transcribe conversations to create summaries and reminders. The devices, priced at $74.99 and $99.99 respectively, are part of Amazon's expanding AI hardware lineup.
Amazon launched two new AI gadgets on Thursday that the company says can listen to conversations, compose notes and issue reminders. The devices, named the Bee Frontier and the Bee Eclipse, are engineered by Bee, an AI wearable maker that Amazon acquired last year.
The Bee Frontier is a silicone wristband that can also be clipped to clothing. It retails for $74.99 and is available in Lavender, Sage, and Onyx colors. According to Amazon, the device features IP67 water resistance, up to seven days of battery life, and USB-C charging. It includes dual microphones with advanced noise filtering designed to ignore background noise in environments like crowded restaurants.
The Bee Eclipse is a credit card-sized device that magnetically attaches to the back of a phone. It goes for $99.99 and will be available soon in Silver, Midnight, Honey, and Blush. Amazon states that the Eclipse offers more than 21 days of battery life on a single charge.
Both devices are equipped with microphones that transcribe meetings or everyday conversations to help people document moments hands-free. "It takes note of the details you might otherwise forget and turns them into useful conversation summaries, to-dos, reminders, and insights," the company said in its release.
Users can connect Bee to existing apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook. This allows the AI technology to draft follow-up emails or create calendar invites based on what was discussed. The devices can also be linked to Amazon's Alexa+ and Amazon.com. Connecting to Amazon.com enables personalized shopping recommendations, where the device can surface items mentioned in conversations on the Amazon homepage.
"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."
Amazon emphasized Bee's privacy protections, noting that "no one, including Amazon, can access your data." The company states that audio recordings are deleted after the Bee devices transcribe them. "No audio is ever stored. Audio is processed into insights in real time and deleted after processing," Amazon said. Users can configure the devices to automatically turn off if no sound is detected for a set period, and an LED light signals when the device is on.
Users receive conversation summaries, recaps, and 14 days of memory for free. Advanced capabilities, such as integration with Alexa+ and Amazon.com and suggested to-dos, require a Bee Pro subscription, which costs $11.99 per month. New customers get 30 days free of Bee Pro.
The launch marks Amazon's continued expansion into the AI hardware market, competing with products from Meta, Microsoft, and startups like Plaud and Friend. While Amazon positions these devices as tools for productivity and memory aid, the always-listening nature of the hardware when active has drawn comparisons to previous privacy concerns surrounding voice assistants. Amazon has faced criticism and a class action lawsuit regarding past practices with its Alexa service, which it has denied any wrongdoing in.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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