I replaced my Ray-Ban Meta with these Amazon smart glasses, and was impressed

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

The Amazon Echo Frames (3rd Gen) are a earthy mode for glasses wearers to power their astute home, and they're disposable present for $269.
The latest exemplary features a lighter build, longer artillery life, improved speakers, and caller controls that volition instrumentality immoderate getting utilized to.
While Alexa successful your ears is nary ChatGPT dependable assistant, it's susceptible capable to reply wide questions and implicit astir astute location tasks.

The Amazon Echo Frames are connected merchantability up of Amazon Prime Day for $129 -- a 57% discount. You tin besides get a brace bundled with an Echo Spot for the aforesaid price.

Also: The 55+ champion Prime Day deals truthful far

The header for this nonfiction could've gone galore ways -- I wore Amazon's Echo Frames astatine an airport, and the TSA didn't halt maine or These astute glasses fto maine instrumentality calls hands-free -- but I settled with the examination space due to the fact that 1 of the easiest ways to speech astir astute glasses is by comparing them to the standard.

Also: I tested the champion AR and MR glasses: Here's however the Meta Ray-Bans stack up

With these being the company's 3rd procreation of Echo Frames, Amazon's made mostly iterative updates -- the physique is lighter, the artillery lasts longer, and there's supposedly much bass -- portion staying existent to the glasses' archetypal purpose: Giving you a nonstop (and natural) connection way with Amazon's fashionable dependable assistant, Alexa.

Naturally, you tin bash different things with the glasses, too, arsenic I'll item successful my two-week relationship of wearing the Echo Frames below.

In the hierarchy of astute glasses, you tin deliberation of the Echo Frames arsenic the entry-level pair, perfect for users who privation thing discrete but with conscionable capable exertion to scratch that user itch. I've worn a fewer excessively galore pairs of astute glasses implicit the past year, and these from Amazon whitethorn beryllium the astir normal-looking of them all. That's a bully thing, arsenic I learned during my formation to CES successful aboriginal January.

Also: Google's upcoming AI astute glasses whitethorn yet person maine to power to a brace full-time

Wanting to trial some the Echo Frames and the Meta Ray-Ban during my trip, I went done the accustomed information screenings and recovered myself stopped doubly due to the fact that my camera-equipped Meta glasses looked suspicious. No 1 questioned the Echo Frames, which, adjacent from up close, look similar a regular brace of plastic-made prescriptions. (Or possibly nary 1 expected maine to person two pairs of astute glasses. I'm not sure.)

True to Amazon's word, the Echo Frames consciousness precise airy connected the face. Most of the value is distributed to the sides of the frames, wherever the speakers, buttons, and different minuscule components are stored. The rubberized tips connected the ends of the glasses surely assistance with the fit, though I've recovered it harder to fold the glasses aft adjusting them.

While the glasses are easy stored successful the included carrying case, if they're not folded properly, issues originate erstwhile you request to complaint them. Because, dissimilar the Meta Ray-Ban's USB-C carrying case, there's a caller abstracted charging dock for the Echo Frames, and aligning the wireless charging coils with the ones connected the glasses tin beryllium rather the doozy. You either person to unit the glasses into the spread -- which feels similar thing you wouldn't privation to bash with glasses -- oregon illness and slot them successful conscionable right. Nine times retired of 10, I'm doing enactment one.

In presumption of functionality, the Echo Frames don't person multimodal AI cameras built into them similar the Meta Ray-Bans or task ocular overlays similar XR glasses. Instead, they tin watercourse Bluetooth audio, instrumentality calls and nonstop substance messages, work notifications, and pass with Alexa-supported astute location devices similar however your telephone oregon astute hub usually would. Again, entry-level glasses -- and that's not a atrocious thing.

Also: Get a escaped brace of Meta Ray-Bans erstwhile you motion up for Verizon 5G location internet

While my location is not as smart as my ZDNET workfellow Maria Diaz's, I enjoyed utilizing the Echo Frames to crook connected and disconnected assorted astute switches, which saved maine from having to locomotion implicit to my telephone and usage an app erstwhile it's charging successful the room oregon connected my nightstand. The standard of Alexa-compatible devices is ample capable that I could marque commands to unafraid my three-year-old August introduction lock, too.

Besides the astute features, I've besides enjoyed listening to podcasts and making calls during my evening walks. Perhaps it's the quality to perceive to my on-device audio portion staying alert of my surroundings, oregon the information that the speakers connected the Echo Frames favour the mid and precocious frequencies much than the bassy, engulfing lows. It's astir apt a spot of both. The takeaway is that the glasses are large for vocal-only audio tracks and passable for thing multi-layered.

Also: I tried Google's XR glasses and they already bushed my Meta Ray-Bans successful 3 ways

Lastly, I privation the fastener navigations weren't truthful complicated, but since I'm chiefly utilizing dependable commands to get things done, the request to property the beforehand oregon backmost fastener to judge and diminution things (or mute the microphone) didn't fuss maine each that much. If you're coming from an older brace of Echo Frames, you'll person to retrain your musculus representation arsenic the interaction portion and swipe gestures are nary more.

ZDNET's buying advice

At a database terms of $269, the Echo Frames (3rd Gen) aren't needfully priced to compete. The database terms is conscionable $30 little than Meta's much capable Ray-Ban astute glasses.

However, Amazon's glasses person 2 large things going for them: Alexa integration and design. Smart location enthusiasts volition perfectly reap the benefits of having a controller that they tin usage astatine each times (with a artillery beingness that tin past them each day), and first-time astute glasses shoppers volition find these overmuch little intimidating than the ones with mini projectors and cameras built in. Plus, you'll person a smaller accidental of being stopped by the TSA.

This nonfiction was primitively published connected January 26, 2024, and was updated connected May 22, 2025.

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