Amazon's New Gadgets Include An AI Assistant That's Always Listening To You

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Amazon has been on a device launch spree over the last couple of weeks, with all-new Alexa tablets, new slates for kids, ring security cameras with 4K resolution, an updated Kindle lineup, and an upgraded Fire TV Stick 4K media streamer with Vega OS. However, one of the more interesting announcements came with two new personal AI devices called the Bee Frontier and the Bee Eclipse, which are designed to hear your conversations and keep a note of important things in case you forget. Essentially, Amazon claims it wants you to have conversations and be in the moment, and leave the remembering to these personal AI devices. All your processed and summarized conversations, along with key takeaways, are available via the companion apps.

These are the first devices to be launched under the Bee brand after Amazon acquired the tiny AI startup last year. While the Bee Frontier succeeds the original Bee device and is a wearable, the Bee Eclipse is a magnetic accessory for smartphones. The Frontier carries a price tag of $75 and is already on sale via Amazon, whereas the Eclipse will cost you $100 and is coming soon. In addition to the devices, Amazon is debuting a subscription called Bee Pro that will cost you $12 a month.

The subscription gives you unlimited memory, allowing you to basically record your whole life instead of just 14 days; access to the Bee desktop app; automatic suggestions for to-do stuff; and better AI models for processing your audio data. More importantly, you get app integrations as part of Bee Pro, including Alexa, Gmail, Google Calendar, Amazon shopping, and more. So if you really want to get the most out of these AI gadgets, you'll need the subscription.

The Bee Frontier looks like a wrist-worn fitness tracker at first glance, but its main module is removable, and you can clip it to your clothes if you prefer that. It's rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, the same as your fitness tracker or your smartwatch. You also get a seven-day battery life and support for USB-C charging. The latter is a particularly good idea as it doesn't force you to carry another charger with you.

It has two built-in microphones to listen to your conversations and take note of important things that you discuss throughout the day. It supports up to 40 languages and can summarise your conversations as well as give you actionable items. The device also uses noise filtering to ensure it's able to hear the conversation when you are in a noisy environment, like a restaurant or cafe. More importantly, Amazon says the device gets smarter with time by understanding your relationships and patterns, making it more useful as you use it.

As the device is essentially listening to everything you say, there are privacy safeguards built in. For example, you get a physical hardware button to turn the microphones on or off, and an indicator to show when the device is listening to you. You can also ask it to turn off automatically when it doesn't detect sounds for a set duration, which will be helpful when you forget to turn it off yourself. All audio is processed in real time and then deleted, leaving no room for potential misuse. The data that the device extracts from your conversations is encrypted with keys on your own device, making it inaccessible to even Amazon.

The Bee Eclipse snaps onto the back of a phone featuring MagSafe-style magnets, including iPhones, Google's Pixel 10 and 11 lineup, and any other phone that has built-in Qi2 magnets. Like the Frontier, it can listen to and process any in-person conversations you are having; however, the extra feature you get with it is the ability to handle your phone calls. It doesn't connect to your phone via software or anything; instead, it uses a built-in vibration microphone to listen to the person on the other end, and four other microphones to listen to your voice and anyone else near you.

It's about the size of a credit card and only 4.6mm thick. Like the Frontier, it supports USB-C charging, and Amazon claims it can last up to 21 days on a single charge; however, it's not IP-rated for dust or water resistance. Among other highlights, it has the same privacy safeguards as the Frontier, including a physical hardware button to turn the microphones off and an indicator to show the status.

Amazon is hardly the first manufacturer to delve into the personal AI device space, as we already have devices from the likes of Comu, Pocket, Plaud, and Runne, which look pretty similar to the Eclipse. So, it will be interesting to see whether Amazon and Bee are able to crack the market or see any significant uptake.