Description
Hands-free with Alexa – Make calls, listen to podcasts or Audible books, set reminders, add to your to-do lists, get the news, or control your smart home. Open-ear audio with Auto Volume – Echo Frames direct sound to your ears while minimizing what others around you can hear. Plus, with Auto Volume they automatically adjust volume based on the noise level of your environment in real time. VIP Filter – Customize which notifications to receive from the contacts and apps on your phone that matter most to you. Top Contact option will enable calling to your top VIP with just a single press and hold of the touchpad to give you a more convenient and seamless way to stay in touch. All-day wear – Echo Frames are lightweight and comfortable. They are IPX4 splash-resistant for water and sweat and are available in prescription ready frames, polarized sunglass lenses with UV400 protection or blue light filtering lenses. Battery life – Get over 2 hours of talk time, Alexa interactions, and media playback over a 14-hour day. Or, up to 4 hours of nonstop listening on a full charge. Does even more – Supports access to Google Assistant and Siri from a compatible device. Designed to protect your privacy – Microphones are designed to respond to the voice of the person wearing the frames and turn off with the double-press of a button. Amazon is not in the business of selling your personal information to others.
60 reviews for Echo Frames – Eyeglasses with Alexa
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V. OrlovV. Orlov –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good frames with some limitations
I did a lot of research prior to purchasing these frames. And after several month of using the frames, I have some good, bad and downright ugly things to say about the frames.Pros:* The frames are light. It is very great to have light glasses, as I have to wear them all day long.* The frames are actually good looking. I get a lot of compliments about the frames.* It was easy for my local eyeglasses office to put prescription lenses in them.* To have Alexa with me is beyond helpful: So my entire house is connected to Alexa, and I can use the frames to control everything single thing in the house, from thermostat to my doors, to my lights. It is great. Further more, having my music with me at all times is wonderful.* Great conversation starter – I can’t tell you the countless times where I was in a meeting and the frames were an amazing ice breaker. More over, it is convenient to hear your notifications rather then me, having to glance at my watch during a conversation.Battery: So, this is not a pro or a con. I knew the battery life was around 2 hours of continued use. So… No surprise there. And, while I wish the battery life was a little better, I am fine with what it is. I have to charge the frames at least once during the day. I am also aware, that these frames are not designed to be used continuously throughout the day. The idea for these frames is for a person to get notifications, answer calls and maybe listen to a song or two.Cons:* Not water resistant – just like the battery life, I knew the frames were not water resistant. But it stinks that if I am bathing my toddler, I have to take the frames off or risk getting water damage. So, I ended up purchasing a second pair of regular glasses for swimming or bathing my little ones. This is a con….* Difficult to clean – sometimes a microfiber cloth is not enough to clean the lenses. Because the frames are not water resistant, it makes it a challenge to actually clean them.* Charging port – this magnetic port if terrible. Whoever designed it, needs to lose their job!!! Half of the time, the port doesn’t work. I have to be very careful to make sure the frames are actually charging before leaving them on the table.* Charging cable – I wish the charging cable was a little longer. When I sit in front of the computer, I would love to be able to charge my frames while still wearing them. But because the cable is not long enough, I have sit perfectly still or risk disconnecting the frames.* The Alexa app is very difficult to navigate.Ugly….I can’t tell you how many times the frames lose connection with my phone for no reason at all. Several times, I was in the middle of a conversation and the frames decided to disconnect. This alone makes me think twice before I purchase the next generation (if one is released)The touch area on the right side is not very responsive at times. Currently it works about 50% of the time. It makes it very difficult to answer calls.Overall, I like the frames. I wish Amazon fixes the connection issue. I also hope, when the new model is released, the batter life is improved as well as water resistance is improved. These frames have the potential to be great.
48 people found this helpful
rugarrr –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Echo frames are cooler then I expected.
I was hesitant to get the Echo frames when they first came out because even though I consider myself an early adopter I wanted to see if they would be more than a gimmick and didn’t want to see them go the way of Google Glass. Since these were 2nd gen I figured they were here to stay and whatever kinks were in the 1st gen they’d surely worked them out.Let’s start out with comfort. The glasses are comfortable. They’re pretty light and no heavier than standards frames. The only gripe I have is that since they have a glossy finish, when I sweat (I live in Texas after all) the glasses slide off my face. Bought a strap to solve that problem.Let’s talk about looks. I thought it would be obvious I was wearing these geeky, gadget glasses. The sides are thicker than regular glasses as this is where the electronics live but when you wear them it’s hardly noticeable.Sound quality. I thought these frames used bone conduction (similar to my AfterShokz) but unfortunately they do not. They simply have directional speakers pointing to your ears so that only you can hear them. Even at the highest volume level, they are not loud. No risk of hearing damage at all. I wore them while mowing the lawn and all though I could hear the chime, I couldn’t hear Alexa’s message. I tried listening to an audiobook while I walked my dogs and although I could hear I wanted more volume. Music is not the best thing to use them for as you don’t get the full effect. These do work well for phone calls but honestly because they are open ear they work best when used in a quiet environment.Connectivity. They connect automatically as soon as you put them on which is nice. However, they probably connect too well. Using them while driving I learned that they stayed connected even when plugged into my CarPlay. Not a big deal as they are probably just doing what most Bluetooth connected ear buds would do.Alexa. The frames seem to override any other Echo you may have due to the close proximity. So if you’re trying to command your other Echo from across the room while wearing these, good luck. You can however easily disablethe mic on the Echo frames if this becomes too much of a problem without having to reach for your phone.Battery life. I have yet to put the battery to the test so I can’t comment on battery life. I don’t wear my Echo frames, or any glasses for that matter, 24/7 so it’s hard to tell how they hold up. However these are glasses after all and even if the battery dies too soon you can still use them as regular glasses. Not a big deal in my eyes.Overall I’m happy with my Echo Frames. I wish they were louder or used bone conduction and I haven’t figured out a way to get Alexa to give me a full notification without having to physically prompt her. The good thing is I’m on my phone less checking each and every notification, text, email, etc. My phone stays in my pocket and I’m still notified. It’s less intrusive and I can be more engaged in what I’m doing.
One person found this helpful
E. Antonio –
5.0 out of 5 stars
For those wondering
I bought this, and to be honest was more wanting it to control my house anytime anywhere.I am sure you see mixed reviews, but this product is more for a target audience. If you don’t wear glasses often, have other Alexa enabled devices, or looking to upgrade your hands-free interactions, then look elsewhere.This is intended for an everyday user. Think of it more like a personal assistant that is hands-free. I have pre-set routines that I can access anytime or place, and if I can be honest using this for work helps me address things I often forget. Everyday I am setting reminders, alarms, and calendar events to ensure I don’t miss anything.Yes you can use it for music, and calls, but if you us it that way the battery will last a few hours at most.Would suggest to rather sync you contacts, calendar, and other apps so you can get the full experience. Using it this way the battery will last all day (if no music or extended phone calls), then charging when you go to bed and its ready to go the next day. Mine even charges in about an hour to full battery.Now lets talk about the personal space people often overlook with smart devices. Yes it does collect that data you submit into it, HOWEVER, you can disable that function in the Alexa app. Super easy fix, but I know that Amazon is not collecting my data to sell it off but rather use that data to better Alexa. Recognizing unique commands or phrases better, or if its unable to give you information you are looking for it will take that info and at some point in the future better itself on what was asked. So if you ask Alexa something and it doesn’t know, try re-phrasing it or give it a few months and ask again. Again you can always disable this function in the App, so don’t let that deter you from experience.Audio is good, don’t expect high bass, since this was not build like headphones. That being said, I can hold conversations while still listening to music. On an average medium volume setting someone has to be within ~1-2ft to hear it . I do often speak louder when making calls on the Echo Frames, just force of habit I suppose.Getting the lens in them was a process. With the electronics you cannot do a tradition way to insert them. It comes with a small packet on instructions for whomever you would like to take them too. Mine took a full 7 days to get back to me.With this device being sensitive to heat, you have only one option to fix if it hangs too far past your ears (due to the electronics). That is to bend the ends more around your ears. I like the product so much though that I bought those rubber ear hook things you can get that go on the ends of glasses, that 100% fixed the problem for me. All my friends have not even notice it. When wearing them, no one even suspects that they are Echo Frames, but regular glasses. The frames don’t close flush, but that is nothing I am worried about. The case it comes with is MORE than large enough to hold them comfortably.Hope this helps!
4 people found this helpful
Justin P. Morgan –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Good, But Could Be Better
Innovative technology. I like the ability to hear my phone for videos and calls without having to remember earbuds! The volume is pretty good.What could be better is the software. It is buggy! It is the only app on my phone where I am regularly clearing the cache to get it towork properly. Sometimes the swipe feature will not work; this is a software problem.Also, my notifications from Nest: the Nest app shows up in the VIP filter, but ever since I’ve had the glasses, I’ve never gotten a Nestnotification. So, I’ve had to use my smartwatch as a backup.It works great with Alexa, however. I can control my Alexa-capable smart devices with the glasses, which is nice if I’m not near an Alexa device.The glasses were easy to get fitted with prescription lenses; I went to an independent optometrist in my city. I was surprised when the lens fitter said my frames were the first he had ever done (this was the summer of 2022), because my city is known for technology. Still, it didn’t cost extra, and he took care not to harm the electronics.They’re not the most stylish frames (or even smart glasses) out there, but they sure are durable. I don’t wear contacts because I will fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I’ve fallen asleep on the couch with these glasses on, sleeping on my side, and have not harmed the frames.When I first got my frames, I had a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 for a phone. The software had a lot of problems. Now I have an S23 Ultra, and with the newer phone, and app updates, the performance is improved. There’s still issues though, so that’s why I give it four stars.
One person found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly Useful
I’d been researching smart glasses for several months before deciding to go with echo frames. As soon as they came in I took them to lens crafters and got my prescription put in. I’ve had them about a month and will never get dummy frames again. I can listen to videos in public without bothering anyone. It works in a theater so I can hear work messages without looking at my phone. If I get an email while I’m washing dishes, it can read it to me so I don’t have to stop. Phone calls sound great and sound normal to the caller. You don’t sound muffled or far away but if you have the volume too loud, they’ll hear an echo. I can conduct meetings on them without having to sit at the computer. They work like a Bluetooth headset but also with Alexa anywhere.These aren’t for everyone, but as someone that utilizes Alexa and my phone all day for work and needs glasses to see, they’re amazing. And I get to call regular glasses “dummy” glasses like some kinda jerk and that’s fun too :)They do not replace Bluetooth headsets. If you’re thinking these would be great for music or gaming, no. They’re great for calls, phone notifications (which you can filter by app and by contact) and Siri and Alexa, and for seeing (if you’re into that).A common question I bet is “How long does the battery last?’ Depends on what you’re doing. Because I use them for work, they last about 6-8 hours on the weekend. During the work day I just charge them from my computer when I’m sitting at it while wearing them. Do I look crazy with a charger cord coming out of my face? Probably, but I work from home so I don’t care. They only require one or two 30 minute charge sessions throughout the work day if I’ve used them to do a meeting.I figured I’d charge them at night, but once fully charged, they turn back on and that can drain the battery, so really, you have to charge them during the day while wearing them, but it doesn’t take very long to get to a full charge. And if I’m not going to use them for awhile, I just turn them off. It’s not like they have to be turned on to work as glasses, lol.As far as the cost goes, they’re about the same as some high-end dummy glasses. $300 is not all that uncommon for glasses (yes, I know you can get frames for $150).Lens crafters had no problem putting the lenses in. I walked in, said hey I’ve got these echo frames. They said ok, what kind of lenses do you want in them? They have a new transition lens that “work” in the car. They do work as long as I’m not driving straight towards the sun.
10 people found this helpful
J MJ M –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Updated 7/12/23 , big improvement – broken temples
EDIT 4 (7/12/23):Unfortunately my right temple broke at the end of last year so they’re now just collecting dust 🙁 -1 star for that as this is the first glasses that I’ve broken in many years.EDIT 3 (5/24/22):Recently I switched to a different phone (Galaxy S22U) from Google Pixel phones (Pixel 6 pro had the same issues as 4xl) and I must say the frames work noticeably better, I’m talking leaps and bounds. I’ve been getting a solid full day of wearing the frames getting to 50% battery left on the frames at night if I had very little use, since I switched phones I have NOT had any issues with the phone battery either.This is very encouraging and after all they are performing very well, I have not had cutoffs and drops as I did before, in fact I can only recall once that the frames rebooted by themselves without apparent reason in the last 2 weeks.I am also getting less false positives since my initial review to the point of not being an issue at all, I have not noticed this happening while playing music anymore either.If this new experience continues going forward I’ll come back for Gen 3/4 when I need new framesEDIT 2:It has been a while and the situation hasn’t improved, even after reinstalling the app again and talking to Amazon support a few times. I kept looking into it and found the following, which basically corroborates 2 of the issues I’ve been having with my phone just go back to Amazon Alexa1) Echo frames loses connection with my phone (verified by Amazon that it was due to exhausting phone resources, pixel 4 has 6GB of RAM btw)2) Battery drains really fastAs you can see in the picture, my usage today has been 50 minutes looking at the screen by 2PM since I woke up at 6 and my battery is at 27% mostly due to AlexaPS: Still not worth it and it might have damaged my phone’s battery beyond repair based on the performance I’m gettingEDIT 1:Since my review I have been contacted by Amazon to help debug the problem further, it’s actually exacerbated the problem, they suggested I reset them to factory and resync them, only thing this did has been create more cutoffs during calls and more battery drain.Today I had it cut off 2 times while on the same call saying “I’m having problems connecting to Alexa, open the app and blah blah blah”. Suffice to say that on those 2 times, I could not hear the other person that kept talking. And then it shut off completely and restarted it, on the same call by the way.It’s a little bit past noon and my glasses just told me, I’m at 10% left, after picking 3 calls (probably around 20-30 mins talk time)Original Review:Prescription lenses were a pain to get, most opticians don’t want to touch them because electronics.The audio keeps activating if you’re using your phone even though no sound is playing, you can hear a white noise sound for a few seconds, this depletes the battery, this happens constantly with any phone I’ve tried, it is actually worse on Gen 2Alexa can be helpful sometimes, but I get A LOT of false positives, like alexa thinks I’m talking to her when I’m in the car… with my music on, which in turn stops the music from playing…These reasons make the glasses a hassle, forcing me to turn them off when I get on the car and when I want to use my phone through its regular speakers (it has a way to change the output, but it messes with other bluetooth connections)I will not buy these again when Gen 3 or 4 comes around
19 people found this helpful
GettinjiggywithitGettinjiggywithit –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Really great use for these especially when working from home
Update: Feb 2024I continue to use these glasses on a daily basis. I use them at home mainly so some issues that I know many might have (including myself) are not as BIG as I don’t tend to leave with them much. The biggest issue I have found is the charge. It doesn’t last long and I can get through perhaps two hours at most with full heavy usage before I need to charge them. This isn’t a problem for me since I placed them on the charger and take a break (lunch break usually) and they charge relatively quickly. Charging is easy due to the cord. I know that this was changed in the third version that has come out. I love the ease of this power cord to charge. I do find that I can use this on my computer and then disconnected and use it on my cell phone. It takes a few seconds to make the swap. Again, I’m told that this option is improved in the third version. I intend on keeping these for now as they work well for me. I also have prescription and blue light lenses in these and I have no need to upgrade yet. However, this was one of my favorite purchases from Amazon to date.I’ve added photos of the glasses to show more detail. Though they look bulky they are light weight and I don’t feel them heavy when I’m using them. Also, the side areas on the arms do not stand out much because they hide behind my ear.————-Original review:I have had these glasses for at least one year and I have been really satisfied with them!Pros: if you get these on black Friday you may likely score a deal vs the full price.I work from home and prefer these over using ear buds. I have never been able to find comfortable ear buds but these work better. It allows me to work from home without occupying my hands with a phone.Unless on the highest setting most people can’t hear your conversation! It’s amazing.Negative: i really wish they made these in a slightly smaller size. I think they look good on most people but they are slightly too big. I use them anyhow and have gotten compliments but i wish the fit was better. If Amazon comes out with a small version I’ll upgrade and switch.
2 people found this helpful
RickRick –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun piece of affordable tech!
I like these glasses. They are fun to use and also offer practical uses (alarms, reminder lists, reading out loud texts and emails, phone calls, controlling smart devices, etc.) — the sound quality is good, and if the volume is down low enough, no one can hear except for the person wearing the glasses. If the volume is at a high decibel surrounding people can hear. Nonetheless, Alexa is well integrated — and the battery life is not super long but a person can use the technology pretty frequently during the day and still only need to recharge at night. I suppose using them continuously could reduce the battery life but I cant imagine who would need to use them all day without stopping. In addition, the price is good! The price is similar to other frames! (The material to use is lightweight and probably not something a child or teen could use without breaking — this product is probably best for adults only). The style of the glasses….this is my bug-a-boo #1)… the color options are very limited AND the shape is not especially complimentary — the shape is too big for my face (the lenses are large enough to cover my low brow when I prefer my brow be above my frame — I feel like I look like Harry Carey) and I prefer something more angular — but I suppose there’s only so many options for shape and color — strangely enough the bows appear bulky in the photos but that truly doesn’t show so it doesnt bother me. (Also the activating behaviors of tapping and sliding your finger is so subtle that no one will know what you are doing!!! That part is especially cool to me) Further surprise to me was that the frames are lightweight. Bug-a-boo #2) only Lens Crafters was willing/able/trained to fit the frames with lenses. My eye doctor and optometrist were not willing to “tackle” affixing the lenses to the frames despite the directions that come with the lenses. This was a bit inconvenient and the cost of my lenses were much more than would have been at my optometrist. Nonetheless even though I don’t care for the color and style, people tell me they look nice (even people who are not inclined to give compliments) AND they are a great conversation starter. They are fun, surprisingly practical if you like to use tech, and light weight. The appearance is pleasant, but I don’t care for the lack of style choices and lack of color options. It is also inconvenient to go to Lens Crafters but not a ridiculous necessity. GET ‘EM — YOU WILL LIKE THESE FUN MODERN FRAMES WITH TECH INSIDE!!!
5 people found this helpful
ILMbeachbum –
4.0 out of 5 stars
I’m very happy with my purchase
Amazon, this is for you: Please get the bluetooth shielding better on the glasses, and make it where I can have calendar notifications on the frames from Microsoft 365.Now for everyone else:I have had my frames for a week now and am very satisfied.It does everything that I expected it to do which is basically anything a home echo can do. Music, weather, news, text notification and reading and hands free sending, and hands free wireless calling. While many recent cars today have the voice and text feature, I have found that my conversation does not drop after I turn the car off. I can just hop out of the car and keep talking. I really don’t understand what the people who gave this one star for audio quality. I didn’t go into this purchase expecting excellent sound like the Bose frames. My best guess is the engineers took cell phone speakers and put into the frames. I did not expect any better sound quality and the sound is actually better than the reviews here made it out to be.As I am hard of hearing, this has been a godsend about being able to talk, text, listen to music with the speaker right near my ear. I can still hear the world going on around me unlike ear buds. I have almost been hit by a car walking with ear buds and can easily see how that will not be a problem.I had my lenses installed at my local Lenscrafters who had a print out of what needed to be done and even though they told me this was their first time, I had the lenses installed the same day because they had the materials in stock with remarkable clarity. It was a seamless experience. Just remember that they will more than likely turn the frames on accidentally and your battery could be run out when you get them back. So if they don’t turn on immediately, don’t panic.The only things I have against them is that it does not use a normal charging cable. This one has on one end a USB A (so the normal USB charging will work off of most laptops or wall plugs) and the other end having the proprietary connection. The proprietary connection to the frames is only held in place by some weak magnets so you will want to find a stable place to charge the phone. A table away from kids and pets is a good idea.Also the bluetooth connection dropping is a real problem. I have noticed that is happens primarily around other bluetooth sources, hence my shoutout to amazon at the first part of this review.Also additional instructions on how to do certain activities is needed on their website. I am having trouble locating information on how to set my work calendar notifications to be read on my frames so I don’t keep missing meetings.I am looking forward to see what Amazon has in store for Gen 3.
Robbert Patrison –
4.0 out of 5 stars
The echo frames fit like a glove.
The Echo Frames “nerd glasses” fit great, are super lightweight, and even manage to pass as regular frames to the untrained eye. The process of ordering prescription lenses online was a breeze. With my strong prescription strength and requirement for multifocale transitions, the lenses did cost a multiple of the Echo Frames. They are made of cheap plastic, so that is somewhat a mismatch.The Echo Frames are like the always-on airpods, which is a pretty cool feature. From now on taking phone calls is a breeze – no more fumbling around in my pockets for my airpods. I changed the wake word to “echo” to avoid confusion with nearby Alexa’s. I especially love the VIP filter that keeps the less important notifications at bay.However, the sound quality on these nerd glasses leaves a lot to be desired. Everything sounds like it’s coming through a 1970s phone, with no low or high tones to speak of. It’s a far cry from the cheap airpods I’m used to, and the environmental noise is much more intrusive since it’s not blocked out by an object in the ears.The battery life is disappointing. A few phone calls and a podcast later, and the frames are dead as a doornail. In my experience, they barely last two hours, which is a far cry from my trusty airpods.Overall, I’m still happy with my new nerd glasses. They wear just like regular glasses while adding a few cool features.Edit after wearing daily for 7 months:They hold up pretty well. I use them a lot as always-on earphones. I barely use the Alexa features in practice.Battery life is poor but in return it charges quickly.There are a few annoying features:Multiple times I have accidentally ended a phone call because I touched the right side without thinking.At the same time the single-tap STOP command is not reliable. When some walks up to me to talk while I am playing contents they see me tapping frantically with my finger on my temple….Every time I put them on it is telling me: “connected to iPhone. Start the Alexa app …..”. There seems to be no way to switch this off.It appears as if Amazon has laid off the team who made this because there have been no software updates at all.
Hans Loedolff –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible sound and battery. OK sunglasses though
I’m used to Shokz “bone conducting” open ear headphones. Sometimes I use them while wearing sunglasses, so I figured I’ll get these Echo Frames so I don’t have to hang two things over my ears.Compared to the Shokz, the Echo Frames sound is absolutely terrible. I mostly listen the spoken voice (like audiobooks or podcasts, not music). Switching from the Shokz to the Echo Frames turns a very nice, very clear, very audible voice into a tiny little squeaking mouse. If there’s zero ambient noise the I can still make out what the little voice is squeaking, but anywhere near other people, or less than 100 feet from a passing car, or on a windy day, forget about it. I can switch to music and make out a tiny little drum track – and maybe catch the melody – but nothing more.Then there’s the battery life. No – strike that – there’s no life in this thing’s battery. I need to charge it after every use or it’ll be half drained the next time I pick it up. (Here too I’ve been spoiled by the Shokz, which I use for 30 to 60 minutes a day and charge once a week).Also annoying is how many words it speaks every time I switch it on. Just one beep for “on” and maybe another blip for “connected” would have been fine.I’ll give it three stars though because they are functioning sunglasses. I think they look OK (sufficiently nondescript). And sometimes having that tiny little drum track to listen to is a nice distraction.On the whole, it’s better to wear regular sunglasses and better headphones.
Tim –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome but annoying
I have worn these daily for the last year. My entire home is smart and integrated with Alexa. These glasses were exactly what I wanted however, the limited choice of wake words make them annoying.In my house, you never say Alexa unless you want 5 devices listening to you. When I have Alexa set as the wake word the rest of the house is delayed as the Alexa system is waiting to see if the glasses have the best “ears”. After the first month I changed the wake word. That’s when I found the next issue. The only other choice is “echo”. It seems fine but it’s just two syllables and gets triggered constantly while you’re talking to someone which makes the blue light turn on and you hear a ding. If you keep talking you could get things to respond you don’t want to. I usually just stopped my conversation and waited until the glasses stopped listening. This was annoying so I found I muted the glasses more frequently. That’s when you start to forget to unmute them and either when you answer a phone call with muted glasses or try to command the house to do something but get no response.I also found that I was having connection issues via Bluetooth. My iPhone didn’t like having a ton of Bluetooth connections and sometimes signals got crossed and they just would drop out of sync requiring you to reconnect and unlock the phone. If the phone isn’t unlocked after connection it gives an error to unlock the phone first.You will appear crazy to those around you. With nothing in your ears people think you are talking to yourself when on a phone call. My wife hated not knowing if I was on a call or not.There’s a few more things but I’ll end the review here. If a Gen 3 comes out or apple makes glasses then I’ll try them again. I’ve now retired them. I do miss them though. When they worked they were awesome.
One person found this helpful
Dana –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not great
My home is fairly large and in order to convert into a “smart home” I have had to spot listening devices strategically located all over it and also my attached garage. My primary reason for buying an Echo Frames was so that I could cut back on the resulting clutter (and free up a number of electricity sockets). Frames has turned out to be a very satisfactory solution: I have already retired a few some listening devices from service and intend to scrap some more. So, basically, I am very happy with this product. Eventually I will probably pick up a second one and set it up with reading glasses lenses.Okay, but there are some negatives that prevent me from awarding it that coveted fifth star. First, anybody who thinks these can be used as a replacement for cans or earbuds for listening to music is seriously deluded. Both the volume and sound quality are woefully inadequate for that purpose. Who in his right mind would expect anything better from speakers small enough to fit in earpieces? Maybe a pair of glasses that used bone conductivity could get the job done, but the cost would be astronomical. Okay, so I’ll give Frames a pass on this one. But there are two serious annoyances which might be fixable with an upgrade for the Alexa app. or maybe a firmware update. First, there are some listening devices I want to keep, particularly a trio of Echo Shows. So the problem is how to keep the Frames and whatever other Alexa devices you may have from stepping on each other. Before buying I read in at least one online review that it’s possible to assign Frames a different wake word. That’s wrong, the current Alexa app. doesn’t give you that option. It should. When wearing my Frames I should have the power to control which of my devices I’m talking to.. My second gripe is that if Apple has been smart enough to ensure that you (within some very regrettable limits) you can use one iOS device to monitor the current battery charging level on another such device, why can’t Amazon figure out a way that you can use the Alexa app. to monitor the current state of your Frames’ battery? At the moment, how much battery life you have left is a complete crap shoot. I suspect both problems are fixable and I hope Amazon gets off its duff and addresses them.
9 people found this helpful
Gary Hays Jr. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
These quickly become a necessity
I have had these for about six months now and I absolutely love them. I went through LensRX to get my prescription lenses and have worn them almost every day since. I was initially skeptical because they feel VERY lightweight and do not feel like they are very sturdy. However, I fell in love with them relatively quickly.Having Alexa with me at all times is great. I did change the wake word to “Echo” instead of “Alexa” because my home and office echoes were getting confused. I set up a routine so that when I’m taking a long walk, I can say, “Echo, I’m walking” and she’ll automatically start playing my favorite Pandora station.There was a day or two that I wore contacts for one reason or another and all day long, I felt as if I was at a handicap. So many little things like being able to text without ever looking at my phone, having all of my music/videos/television shows heard only by me despite being in public, or answering the phone with a tap and being able to immediately start talking are things that quickly become the norm and feel strange when they’re not available.As far as the loudness, if I’m in a busy place, I sometimes struggle to hear a little but that can be remedied simply by putting a slightly cupped hand over my ear.The battery life is good but not great however, I rarely find myself in a situation where I wish I had more battery but don’t. By the time it’s down to 20% or less, I’m usually home for the evening and having access to the echo frame features is less necessary.I received these at a discount due to Prime Day and they are well worth the $100 I paid for them. Currently, my biggest fear is that I’m going to accidentally break them and will need to pay $250 to replace them. I’m seriously considering buying another pair the next time that they go on sale to prevent this possibility.I can’t see going back to NOT having smart glasses now. It would almost feel like going back to having a not smart phone.
11 people found this helpful
Odyssey Michaels –
5.0 out of 5 stars
I’m as happy as I could be with these!
So, like a lot of folks, my eyeballs changed shape when I hit 40+ I went years without needing glasses and then all of a sudden they were essential. I also need technology to help me out as a personal assistant. I’ve never been one to remember dates and times and have looked for every advantage to keep me on track. My job requires me to keep a tight schedule. Also, I’m not a fan of the ear pods that people wear all the time. They always give the impression that the person wearing them is preoccupied with what is to come. I like talking to people and feeling like they are in the moment with me. I’ve never wanted to give off that impression to anyone who interacts with me, so ear pods were never a consideration (plus, they seem like they’d be really easy to lose).I mentioned everything above because these Echo Frames seem to have solved a ton of issues for me. Glasses, scheduling, personal assistant, voice activation, to do lists, reminders, shopping lists, access to the internet, reading text messages and emails, connection to home Alexa devices, music… All right there in a convenient package that you allows you to be hands free with all of your technology needs. What are you waiting for?! Get them.The battery life is incredible. They usually last me the whole day. I make calls, listen to music, listen to emails and texts regularly. The glasses will give you an update as to it’s battery level once in a while so you know when you’re in need of a charge. And, worst case scenario, the battery dies… They still work as glasses!Pro-Tip: If you have an Echo Auto AND Echo Frames, use the action button on the Echo Frames to give commands. Your commands/phone calls/music/GPS (I use Waze) will play over the car audio system. If you call out ‘Alexa’, the system will say that you’re not connected to your device.The only negative issue I’ve had with these is that since the masses aren’t really aware of the tech, people are really thrown when you hold up a finger (The universal sign for “give me a minute, I’m on a call”) to let them know that you’re on a phone call. They don’t see any of the tell tell signs of you being connected – phone, wires, ear pods, that thing that some people still hang around their necks (not sure what it’s called). Either way, that’s not enough of a reason to let these sit on the shelves of an Amazon warehouse.
Rosie –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful
Comfortable, under the radar head set. Even with heavy traffic i could hear my selections.
Shonda –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Alexa in your ear
These glasses have pros and cons. They are just a tad big for me, so keep that in mind if you are female or have a smaller head. I had no problems connecting with anything and they worked as they should. The playback volume is not very great for music (which I expected), but is pretty good for calls, videos, and audiobooks. The battery life could be better. Also, when I first purchased them, the glasses would turn off when I laid them upside down…after an update, they now go into sleep mode instead. To me, it seems to drain the battery a bit more. When in sleep mode all notifications go back to the phone until I turn the glasses upside right. I went through boomerang and ordered rx lenses, which was about a 2 week process. It was very affordable thankfully, because no lenscrafters, or other eyeglass place in my area would touch the frames and add lenses (Boomerang was the only option, even though they state Lenscrafters will do it). So…keep that in mind. However, I want to say that I think $250 is overpriced for these. I am basing my review off the sale price of $150 that I paid (bought 2 pairs). At that price point I give them 4 out of 5 stars. For $250, I give it 3 stars. I am telling you my gripes, just so you are aware. They are still cool glasses and I am happy with my purchase. One touch notifications, music, phone calls, send messages, alexa commands, all in your ear? I do recommend them. However, if you want to be able to take pictures and videos, I recommend the Ray Ban’s. You can’t do that with these, but I didn’t want to anyways.
One person found this helpful
Hugh –
4.0 out of 5 stars
A slight improvement from Echo Frames Gen 1
I have been wearing Echo Frames Gen 1 over a year and recently bought the Gen 2 when it came out. Amazon has made several subtle improvements including auto power off and longer battery life that I can wear it all day without recharging.There is now also better support for Alexa on iOS. Amazon also appears to make slight adjustments to the nose pad/bridge and temples of the frames that I don’t feel discomforted after having it on for several hours. The engineering electronics also seems more robust though there’re still occasional bugs. For example, the control sensors of Gen 1 are very sensitive and any random physical contact to the right temple or movement of the frame temples (for example, taking off the glasses momentarily) which houses the sensors will disrupt the volume or even shut off any audio that you’re listening to. Gen 2 appears to be more resistant to such random touches or movements. After 1 year, Gen 1 batteries appear to drain more quickly, lasting only 1-2 hours. I’m not sure whether Gen 2 batteries will fare any better.There are still issues with Gen 2 such as audio cannot be heard well even with the highest setting in normal sound environment (room with TV on or in a supermarket with a decent crowd). Audio is sufficiently good for phone call and listening to radio, but not music. There is still no option for using alternative wake word beside Alexa, and in a house with many Echo devices, one has to mute the frames first to talk to other Echo devices and remember to unmute it afterwards. Occasionally, a command such as playing a radio station intended for the frames is relayed to all the other Echo devices in the house. This is particularly annoying in the early morning for those who are still sleeping. Overall, Gen 2 is a slight improvement over Gen 1 but still has its kinds. This is still a bargain for those with eye insurance that covers the cost of out-of-network glasses.
2 people found this helpful
Rattlesnake –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Set Your Expectations
I’ve had the Frames about 18 hours and I’ve already decided they’re a keeper. Sure, they’re not perfect but they are great at what they’re intended for.I’ve got Alexa and Siri devices everywhere in my house. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out that I need to turn the Mic’s off in the house and use the Action button when I want Alexa to do something. With the mics off, when my wife asks Alexa for something it doesn’t trigger the Frames and when I want something using the Action button means I don’t have to say the Wake word.I’m completely deaf in my right ear and the hearing in my left isn’t that great. So audio quality hasn’t been something that’s been that important to me for a long time. I have Bicros hearing aids that send the sounds picked up on my right side into the left hearing aid. I tried Air Pods for a while, but any kind of buds means taking out my hearing aids and that’s a pain. The open air speaker system in the Frames works great for me and I’d think anyone with hearing aids of any kind. I can still hear what’s going on around me but I can listen to music and not annoy folks in the same space with me.I’m still working on things like phone calls and text messages, but based on the comments I see in the reviews left here I expect that those will work well for me. I’ll update this in a few weeks as I learn more. The most important message I can give anyone who’s thinking about buying this product is set your expectations. Yeah, the price is a little high, but that’s what happens when you’re an early adopter. The convenience of having Alexa riding on your shoulder wherever you go is well worth it.
One person found this helpful
JC –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good for Music, Bad for Calls
Echo Frames are great for listening to music and/or podcasts when out and about, in the car, or at home. They are, unfortunately, not good for making calls.The Good –Echo frames open ear design makes them great for listening to music while remaining aware in all but the very loudest environments. The ability to bring up music or your favorite podcast by voice is very useful when you don’t want to pull out or look at your phone. The sound quality can’t surpass in ear or over ear headphones, because of the open ear nature of the device, but for entertainment on the go they are great.The Not So Good –Echo frames are ok at general voice interactions, but suffer from drawbacks. When at home in range of another echo the voice command will revert to the frames. The problem is some smart home commands require the phone to be unlocked. Making a command that should work in your home not work. Amazon should be smart about commands, and default ones that require an unlocked phone to be processed by the non frames device.There is no voice only way to activate the default assistant on a device to carry out a command that alexa doesn’t support. (like turning the flashlight mode on in a dark place) A missed opportunity.Finally battery life make using the frames all the time hit or miss. While 3 hrs is enough for going on a run or walking to lunch. The frames don’t have enough power for a day of music or calls.The Bad –Calling on echo frames is a poor quality experience. Amazon has failed on multiple fronts when supporting making voice calls.First hardware, the frames microphone setup suffers from wind noise. Even a modest breeze makes you difficult to be understood by the other caller. Alexa command recognition is better than expected,but call voice quality is poor in a breeze.Controls for calls are also poorly thought out. Amazon has chosen to make the tap gesture the hang up command. It is easy when reaching up to adjust your glasses, hold your hat, or scratch your nose to brush the frames hanging up the call in error. If Amazon changed the hangup gesture to swipe this problem could be greatly reduced. (or better, made all the gestures user controlled).Finally Amazon recently choose to make voice activated calls (i.e. ‘Alexa call mom’) default to alexa calling rather than using the phone’s calling feature. And there appears to be no way to tell the frames to use your phones calling features rather than alexa calling. This makes alexa initiated voice calls break features normally available like call waiting. Calls to folks that don’t have an alexa enabled device handy (like when using an apple watch) just don’t go through. The decision to use alexa calling may make sense for a stand alone device like an echo dot, but it is a poor experience when connected to an actual phone. Note that you can tap and hold to start a call w/ the default assistant (i.e google, apple, etc), but loosing hands free activation is a steep price to pay for a poor design.In summary –If you are looking for a way to listen to music or podcasts when out or in the car the alexa frames are a good fit. For making calls, or having an all day experience, you may be better off looking elsewhere.
3 people found this helpful
NutriSue –
5.0 out of 5 stars
These are a game changer!
I am so impressed with these smart glasses! 👓 The fit and audio quality is amazing and I can still hear everything around me! I love that I can listen to podcasts and music while I do work or clean the house! I wear them driving too because I love being hands free! I have had no issues with setting them up in the Alexa app and the charger has been really easy to use.
Brandon –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing, but they aren’t for everyone!
I was skeptical at first that these would really do much for me because I already have a house full of Google Homes and an Apple Watch. However, I love these glasses, and I’m very happy with my purchase! I’ll start with cons so you know what you’re getting, and then go with the pros.Cons:1. The sound quality is 5/10. I wasn’t expecting much, but it’s great for an assistant or hearing notifications. For music, the sound is (barely) audible for those around me (not bone conducting) and it’s very tinny. The quality isn’t great for music.2. The battery life isn’t great. I work 12 hour shifts and have to stop and charge halfway through my shift. I’ll get on to charging later.3. There’s a very slight but noticeable lag in audio when watching videos. I know it’s Bluetooth, but all my Bluetooth headphones have no lag issues, so these can be improved.Pros:1. These are very comfortable and stylish. They aren’t sunglasses with clear lenses like you’ll find in other brands! And you really can’t tell that the arms are thicker when they’re on your face. It’s not obvious that these are smart glasses, and they’re very light.2. Boomerang, which Amazon recommended for putting RX lenses into these frames, did a fantastic job and did it quick. These are the best lenses I’ve ever had and they were super affordable!3. These can charge in under an hour. I put them on the charger while on lunch and can get through my 12 hour shift with no problems.4. Alexa just WORKS. If you have any Amazon products, this is like adding onto your collection. If not, it works just fine with every smart product in your house. Except it’s on your face and even easier to access than a watch. I tell it to turn my Tesla A/C on and it just works. No having to learn a new system.5. It’s really nice being able to open a TikTok or watch a video and know that I don’t have to crank up my phone volume to hear it. Yes, bystanders may “hear” that there’s sound, but they can’t really tell what’s being said.Overall, I love these and would buy again. Hopefully future frames have better battery or a charging case, and possibly go to bone conduction for audio, but otherwise, you can’t go wrong with these. I only took off a star for the few cons listed above!
One person found this helpful
Amazon CustomerAmazon Customer –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Looks promising so we’ll see
I decided to buy this frames because the price was good (black friday) and I’m also rediscovering all alexa features. Also, the frame price was covered by my vision insurance for up to $100 completing an out of network claim and being using for prescription lenses (boomerang lens has a provider code that you’ll need to file). If you have an echo device the features are the same of course, sound is clear and mic very sensitive so alexan can hear you even in some noise environment. Perfect for daily use but personally I’m using them when going to the store or when in home. Next there’s some other things that may be useful for you.Worth the money? Yes if you buy them on BF or Prime day so you can get a huge discount and basically get them for free (frame only, NOT LENSES) if you use your yearly vision benefits from your insurance provider.I’m a big head guy so the fit nice and I got a medium size, however to avoid damaging the joints I think is better to go a size up (check photo for reference).Battery is said last for 6 hours but that depends if you leave them on for continuing listening like music or podcast, personally is more than enough for me.I Hope this review is helpful.UPDATE: I had my prescription made by Boomerang and I paid about $120 including progressive and basic lenses, I wanted to add transitions but already have sunglasses so didn’t want to spend more. Nice fitting, comfortable and lightweight, doesn’t hurt my ears or nose with legs or bridge. ALEXA feature works well even on noisy areas, I can almost whisper and still be heard, great for phone calls and listening podcasts, not for music because of low fidelity sound, speaker is kind of loud so activate the level sound feature.They are very delicate and you need to be extra careful, battery is not as good as I was expecting, from 100% goes down to 10% in about 3 hours of continuous use. However, I’m satisfied with the product and the money I paid for it.NOTE: If planning to use a prescription make sure the frames are prescription too, otherwise your optician will reject the frames.
7 people found this helpful
Zhansong Lin –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Immature but still fantastic
Having been used it for 1 month now. I am summarizing my points here:Pros:1. Stylish. As compare to some other brands (such as Bose). This frame is stylish and suitable to be used as normal eye glasses. Bose frame is cool as sunglasses, but might look weird with prescribed lens.2. Convenient. I don’t use alexa a lot. I’m here just talking about the convenience for it to be used as earbuds and microphone. You don’t need to take your phone outside the pocket and unlock it to pick up a phone call. Also, you are no long worried about disturb/scare your colleagues when opening a loun-sound video on Ins or TikTok by mistake.3. Both the sound and microphone work pretty well! And I have asked the colleague who sits close to me whether he can hear anything from the frame. The answer is “No”.Cons:1. Battery!!!! If you just expect to use it to pick a few phone calls and watch some TikTok videos to kill time. The battery should be enough. But for me, it’s far away from enough. I was expecting to use it in the daily lab zoom calls. Since some of the colleagues are still working from home. We need to have zoom calls every day for around 3h. But the battery can barely support it for more than 2h of continuous use.2. Connection. It connects to your phone via bluetooth but only with the alexa app. Which means that you cannot use it as simple as the earbuds (at least, as I know, you cannot connect it to your Macbook). So in the zoom call, I need to log into zoom on my cellphone to receive voice (if I want to hear it through the frame) and then also log in on my Macbook to see the PPT slides. Also considering the battery life, now I’ve already taken back my earbuds for zoom calls.3. It’s big. The size is too big! If you have small face. Don’t try it. Not only because you are gonna look weird with it on but also that you will need an extra hand to hold it back frequently to avoid slipping down from your nose.4. The notification for connection (just for connection) is disturbing: such as “Connected to blue tooth, to connect to alexa, please….”. The sentence is too long and really don’t need to show every time! Or just simply to allow us to turn it off.In brief, I really like the designing and the idea although there are several defects in the hardware (especially the battery). I’m now looking forward to the next generation.
Sebastian carrillo –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still wear them to this day after 1 year!!
Love the product battery still going strong 4 hours of course of constant use enjoy using it for text messages listening to conversations very well made the dislike I only have is the battery doesn’t last very long
kyuekyue –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful design and seamless integration
I have always been an enthusiast for discreet wearable tech.I’m exactly the fringe use case these glasses are designed for, and they fit into my work and home life seamlessly.I had a pebble when they were the new hotness, and loved that I could check my notifications, read texts, and use it in ways that felt like natural extensions of my phone, without taking the brick out of my pocket.These glasses fill the same niche for me.Lcd touchscreens on watches always bugged me, and extensive battery drain on wearables always struck me as too high a price to pay for features (color screens, etc) that I don’t need.I bring this up to drive home my particular philosophy on tech like this: it should be a natural extension of mobile phone technology, letting the user seamlessly see and interact with the world in new, but unobtrusive, ways.I work in order fulfillment for a large national home improvement retailer, and thereby do a lot of quick calculations involving fractions and measurements. Before, I used to have to get out my phone, get my calculator app, and do the math. For the year or so since I got the gen1 echo frames, Alexa does this for me, all while quietly serenading me with somewhat thin, but still enjoyable, renditions of Chopin.When my boss or girlfriend texts me with some important task, I can have Alexa discreetly read me their careful instructions, and set a reminder so I don’t forget.I might look a little crazy talking on the phone with no earbud in, but we all used to feel the same way before we made peace as a society with Bluetooth headsets. Smartglasses are gaining traction just like smartwatches did, and people in my circle are already learning that when I hold my hand up to cover my left ear and block unwanted noise, that is what’s going on.The sound quality for music can best be described as “fine,” it’s almost all mids; but you get the gist of what you’re listening to.Battery life in the second generation is miles better than the first, but I wouldn’t throw away your old glasses, as you’ll have to charge these when you get home most days.And when you get down to it, that’s who these are for: people who need glasses, but want them to do a little more. I would not have bought these if I didn’t already wear glasses, (they are just as comfortable as any plastic frames ever were,) and I don’t think you should if you don’t, either.But if you, like me, love the idea of having immediate access to Alexa’s many skills even when you’re not at home, and taking your phone out less often to check the time, or read the notifications that you find important (thank you VIP filter,) then I imagine that you miss your pebble, and will quickly find these smart frames a quiet boon that you could never live without.
36 people found this helpful
S. J. Kerekes –
5.0 out of 5 stars
I LOVE these frames. So convenient for work.
I bought my first pair of Echo frames in March 2022. I primarily use them to see, lol, and for Zoom / Teams calls through out the day. I had recently bought a new pair of $600 glasses but have worn them maybe twice since getting Echo frames. I usually get around 4 hours with pretty constant use. Then on Prime day the Echo frames were on sale. I bought a second pair, you know because the 45 minutes it takes to charge say over lunch, was just too long to be without glasses. So now I have 2 pairs of Echo frames that I love. I can charge while wearing, but prefer to just have a pair on standby. I wear my glasses around 15 hours a day. And in the 15 months I’ve had them, only one day did they bother me. That was likely more related to my stress level than the actual feel of the frames. I knew they weren’t water resistant when I purchased them, but went with the Echo frames because of all the smart glasses they were rated most comfortable. I can see some opportunities or suggestions for improvement but if nothing changed I’d still buy them again. I’d love it if I could rewind / skip a song while listening with a gesture. I’m hoping they go on sale for Prime day again this year so I can get a third pair which I’ll have transition or sunglass lenses put in. I take both pairs with me to the office, but will just wear the pair I have on if out on a weekend. I did buy extra charging cables and have them in lots of places i.e. the car, office drawer, bedroom where I regularly charge them. While not the loudest smart frames, I find them to be a perfect addition to my daily work life where I’m on calls often and need to see. The only real downside is that people don’t realize I can hear audio with my glasses and often speak when I’m listening to something or on a call.
6 people found this helpful
Marcus Wright –
3.0 out of 5 stars
I want to like these, but…
I like the idea of these and was excited to receive the prescription ready frames as a gift last year. No more boring, single purpose glasses!They do work, and have interesting and surprisingly good sound quality, but have some shortcomings that frustrate me.These are uncomfortable glasses. There is no padding and, with my pronounced proboscis, they rub me raw, even after nearly a year of use. I tried add on stick on pads, but they raised up the lenses too much and occasionally they’d migrate to the lenses at inopportune times, so back to straight frames.Enjoy Alexa misunderstanding you at home, but miss her on the go? These are for you! `One of the most frequent uses of Alexa is to set a timer. On my frames, when I attempt it, Alexa acknowledges the request (X minutes, starting now), followed by 2x ‘Sorry, I’m having some trouble’. I cannot set a timer, basic, frustrating.I also use Alexa to turn on lights in remote rooms and buildings. Alexa in frames acknowledges, but then demands I unlock my phone to complete the operation. Maybe a security feature to prevent others from turning on and off my lights, but if I have to access my phone, I would just turn them on from there.The Alexa frames are constantly intercepting my requests to other Alexa devices. Not sure how this can be sorted out at a priority level, but when I try to get my Alexa Show to do something (set a timer, which it CAN do, or play some music), the frames always try first, or sometimes both do. I’d prefer the frames have lowest priority and defer to non-wearable devices in my vicinity. If others prefer differently, make it configurable. As a result, I almost always have the frame’s mic muted, which defeats their purpose. This itself has pitfalls, and Alexa seems to jump in when least expected. If I go to place a call from my car’s bluetooth system Alexa frequently pipes up to let me know what my mic is muted, as the frames have intercepted the call, causing a frenzied shutting off of frames in the car.They do come in handy on occasion, but I find I use them most when I’ve forgotten my Airpods and don’t have any other alternative. On these occasions, I find the battery life is wanting. They won’t last a full day of use, and charging prescription glasses mid-day isn’t feasible.I want to like these but can only tolerate them, largely due to the expensive prescription lenses they hold.
One person found this helpful
Robert –
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good piece of tech with plenty of room for improvement
How can I sum up this review? Wow, well there ara a ton of features that integrate into the Echo Frames from Alexa, that make things almost effortless in their day to day tasks. When I put on these frames, I feel like I’m stepping into the future with a limitless (almost) amount of information and technology at my… not fingertips, but voice.The feeling of being connected is both a bit of a blessing and a curse. I have owned these frames for over a month now and I can say at this point, I can’t live without them, but at times, I’m forced to. The reason why I’m forced to, is because the limited battery life. Now don’t get me wrong, the battery life is good, it can last for mostly the entire day while in constant use, but if I want to turn up the volume to maximum, (sometimes I have to, to hear) it drains the battery in just a few hours. I get that balancing the battery to the size of the frames is important, but be forewarned that the battery is the Achilles heel of the frames.The fit and comfort of the frames are good, I can’t tell much in added weight after the first 2 days of wearing them.The sound is good, especially in a quiet room, but say if you’re on a bus or a train with squeaky tracks, even at maximum volume, there are times where the sound is drowned out by ambient noises. The one way to combat this, is by wearing a beanie that covers the ears and enhances the speakers, while blotting out outside noises.If you’re into cutting edge technology, I would recommend these frames for sure. The ease of just asking the thin air what the weather is going to be for the day, or to set a calendar reminder without pulling out your phone is an absolute win for sure. Just be prepared for doing random charge ups throughout the day, as the battery will drain and then your tech savvy frames will just become regular old glasses.
2 people found this helpful
Shane Vaughan –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Convenient for personal interactions
I have to admit. I was skeptical. And they exceeded expectations in certain areas.Audiobooks. Phone calls. Alerts.., are ok. Integration is ok.They do connect, or should I say, ask you to connect.I love my AirPods! They connect without hesitation. The echo frames, say they need to connect.But let me be clear. They ask to connect to Alexa app. But they are connected to Bluetooth. Yet, it doesn’t say this and doesn’t mention where. So could be connected to phone, iPad, computer, tv?? It would be nice if it said “connected to phone”, so you at least know.The buttons suck.! As does the the swipe temple! Never works right. Also, it is clever that you flip them over to save battery. But you then have to listen to it ask…. Connect to Alexa?So I’m closing. The buttons feel like an 80’s handheld video game. The style is ok, the sound is good for conversation not for jamming out, the integration is mediocre considering you have to find a “skill” that takes forever to relocate in phone and very rarely is recognized by voice. Overpriced. But so is a regular eyewear frame. (Im a retired 30 year old veteran optician, so I know that eyewear is overpriced, doesn’t take an optician to know that)If you have a job that hearing some tunes secretly while in a meeting benefits your corporate life, get them.If you like audiobooks and want to look engaged in school or church while listening to something else. Get them.If you like technology. Get them. Sell them when the new tech arrives.***AMAZON!!, Come on now.. this has been done. Integrate better controls better apps, some visuals or better lens options out of the box. OLED DISPLAY, better battery, better charging cable… just do it differently or at least better than the next guy. And please!!!!! Fix Alexa to recognize that it not an echo on the table. It’s on my face, so connect automatically and recognize the h&&@ I’m saying. And a wireless charging case would a start.One more thing… the light does not indicate the charging status correctly.
AnFuAr –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great glasses, faulty product
Sadly, I purchased the blue light filter one’s, and when I got them, it was not the one I bought, it just a normal glass and I have to pay extra now to add the blue light filter on them.
Cincimaui –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best phone calls i have ever had on my cell phone.
Best phone calls i have ever had on my cell phone. I use these to read audio books and do housework at the same time. Alexa is a cool feature too. Need access to clear prescription lenses. Do that Amazon.
Kahlos Mahn –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible! Comfortable and functional! Great price!
I have been skeptical of these since they were first released, but could not help myself when I saw they were on sale + I had my 25% Echo discount from a trade in. I am SUPER HAPPY I got these! They are comfortable to wear without weighing down on my nose or ears. I got the prescription-ready clear-glass versions to wear when I have my contacts on (which is 90% of the time). The sound quality is amazing, I am surprised at how clear I hear Alexa, music, podcast, and phone calls. I have been using the Echo frames more than my earbuds, although the sound quality isn’t that great when I am on noisy streets or on the subway, I prefer to wear this over my earbuds – because I can hear the world around me. For example, I was wearing them at the office happily listening to a podcast while I did some data-entry and I could hear my coworker come in and approach me. Normally I am startled since my back is always to the door, but with the Echo frames I was able to not just hear them come in and approach me, but also listen to what they were saying without having to unplug earbuds or ask them to hold on/repeat.Other tech related feedback, battery lasted throughout the workday for me. I turned them on at 8 a.m. and returned home by 6:30 p.m. with on and off use leaving me at 40% battery. Charging is easy with the magnetic charger – but this is also were my first gripe comes in. I purchased the Amazon Halo View (which I also love) and noticed they use similar chargers. I was excited to see if I could use 1 charger for both but sadly I can not. Would have been great if Amazon had this continuity with their devices like that-other-company has. :)I am tempted to get a SECOND pair with prescription so I can have that option when I don’t want to wear my contacts.Highly recommended!
One person found this helpful
Suzy the pet sitterSuzy the pet sitter –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love my new echo frames version 2
I love my new echo frames. They are very light weight not much different then weight of most frames. They are very comfortable but a little loose in the nose so I ordered rubber nose guard to keep them from slipping. They come in 3 colors. I went with basic black. The sound quality is as good as my echo buds head phones but nothing actually goes in to the ear. People I’ve spoken with had no idea I was not on my actual phone. It is bluetooth so you must be within the range of your phone. I only had trouble when I left my phone inside and went to work outside. I love having Alexa at a touch of a button, or by saying her name. All the controls are on the right side of the frames the action buttons turn device on or off and lets you have Alexa by pressing the action button. Next to action button is the volume control one direction makes it louder other direction makes it softer. The charger attaches by magnet under right side of frames. There are indicator lights on top inside of frames that change color. Red means turned off or error blue means Alexa heard you or device is turned on. But doesn’t block your vision. Was surprised how much stuff was included a glasses case, a glasses storage box, cleaning cloth, instructions, quick start guide, and instructions for your eye glasses place, charging cord, and plug. If you have the sound low enough people can’t tell if you are listening to music. One thing that surprised me in my land of echo devices it picks the glasses instead of echo show, echo dot, fire tv. If you flip your frames upside down for 3 seconds they turn off automatically. When I took them to get prescription lenses the lady at the glasses place was so impressed she ended up ordering a pair for herself while I was there. If you get a call, message or notification swipe the external frame to accept or tap the external frame once to dismiss or to hang up. I’ve only had for a few days but absolutely loving them I feel like a secret agent because no one would guess they were smart frames. I highly recommend.
19 people found this helpful
Jim –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great, but needs more features. Amazon, listen up!
These frames are comfortable and Alexa works well with them. The battery life isn’t going to last you all day if you use them all the time, but that’s to be expected.Where Amazon can improve these frames with Alexa, is they could allow us to change the voice and the wake word to whatever we like. As of this review, we can only change the wake word to “Echo.” Let’s be honest, if we could set our own wake word to whatever we like, it would be ideal. Who else wants a British man to answer us when we say “Hey, Jarvis”?Physically, I appreciate the multitude of colors that Amazon has made available, however there should be a selection of shapes to accompany the colors.Furthermore, those of us that are outside in the Texas heat or even just have greasy faces would certainly appreciate rubberized nose pads to keep the frames from sliding down our noses.All in all, I haven’t been this excited to go to the optometrist to update my prescription before. I am excited to see what the future of these glasses holds!(But seriously Amazon, please update the Alexa software to be more customizable with voices, accents, and customizable wake words!)
Satchmo the Kid –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost perfect
Just got these today, but it made a good first impression. Bought them to listen to music while I work without the higher-ups knowing.I tested it by sitting beside my wife and adjusting volume of music until she could just barely hear it. We were about 2 feet apart and I had the volume turned up about halfway and she could not hear it. At that volume you get a nice earful of music notes, unbeknownst to any observer.Biggest (and only) con that I can think of is that you cannot change the wake word – something that seems like Amazon should have thought through. I had to change the wake word on all my other devices so that they all wouldn’t respond anytime I tried to use the glasses. I have a hard time believing that no one thought about this while designing these, so I am forced to conclude that it will likely be a feature on the gen 3 or 4. I mean, if they make it perfect the first time around then no one would buy the upgrades, right?Anyway, they are cool regardless. If you’re that worried about privacy then maybe don’t get them. A seemingly inordinate amount of people left negative reviews about an invasion of privacy, which begs the question of why did they get them in the first place? My life isn’t interesting enough for me to worry about invasion of privacy. And if someone stole my identity (somehow) through the Echo system, then good they can pay my debts for me.I will update upon wearing these more regularly.
ProBaller –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stopped charging and working
I’ve been using these pretty regularly for the past 2 years and they recently just stopped charging or working. I have a feeling the battery doesn’t last too many years or charges. Other that that the sound and quality while it lasted was decent and what you’d expect from an Amazon alexa product.
Customer Jen –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent battery life, great sound quality
Comparing these from the day one release, the sound quality is louder and better with less noise/opportunity for anyone not wearing them to hear. They are also slightly lighter than the day one release.Since I’ve seen several questions about them, just thought I’d say that day one lenses fit in these. Online retailers that offer lenses (personally I used lenses rx) don’t need any distinction from day one and current gen, the lenses are the same. While it’s not a complete walk in the park installing lenses, it isn’t difficult either, and I would definitely recommend getting prescription lenses online and installing yourself. I spent 30 dollars on basic prescription lenses where people in the questions/answers section are saying they went through their eye doctor and spent upwards of $150+These are supposedly more water resistant than the day one release, but personally I don’t see how. The holes for the speakers look exactly the same as the day one release (and those came with several warnings to not get wet AT ALL), and I don’t think it would be a good idea to wear these in the rain.These are not bone conduction so they don’t sound as nice as the name brand bone conduction glasses, but they are great for hands free phone calls, podcasts, and having quick access Alexa features.A fun extra feature is that if you have Bluetooth enabled in your car, your phone can act as a bridge and all of the Alexa features can be used in the car as well. (Just in case you may think you want a car dongle/Alexa for your car. These glasses give the exact same features). It is useful for getting Alexa news briefs and weather in the car. However do be advised that if connected to a phone that then auto connects to the cars Bluetooth, phone calls will auto transfer to the car headset just like all the other Alexa audio, and you’ll have to manually switch the phone call audio back to the glasses in the car or phone settings.Day one charger and case work with these.
One person found this helpful
Steven –
4.0 out of 5 stars
have a second pair of glasses
They are good depending on what you want to use them for. The frames look fine, but they are a little heavier then non echo frames and tend to slide off my face more so then regular glasses, and so I got the “Silicone Eyeglass Ear Hooks” to put on the end to stop that from happening. I saw someone else did that on a youtube review. That was not a showstopper for me. In regards to sound they are fine, but you are not going to hear the sound well in a noisy area. With normal background noise you can hear fine. They are not going to replace the quality of headphones or ear buds, but the frames are an alternative for people that don’t want them constantly in their ear. you can use just as a Bluetooth speaker and listen to music through your phone. Lastly, I did buy a second cheap online pair as backup and when I mow. but I am finding I am using the backup half of the time as I need a break from the heavier echo frames. If you are on the fence, buy with a second pair of glasses and or wait for 3rd gen; and hopefully they will be lighter and better battery.
2 people found this helpful
Orange Monkey –
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVE THEM
Had them for a couple of months now.At first, I couldn’t get them to connect easily with Alexa, but didn’t give up, as a very tech-company-skeptic, Amazon is the only tech-company that truly deliver.Listen to books, send announcement, make phone calls, answer phone calls, listen to text messages, send text messages: ALL HANDS-FREE. Everything works BEAUTIFUL.I’m a horseback rider, so as I’m often busy with my hands, grooming, riding, handling, training, mucking, feeding, carrying stuff etc this has been a life-changing device for me. No longer having to pull up my phone. Numerous examples, but like one, when approaching home from our trail-rides, I just ask her to call to have someone come and open the gates. Truly excellent.Only annoying when there are several Alexas in the same room (I have a couple in barn etc too) the wrong one will often pick up what I said and I have to re-start.WISH-LIST:# name different Alexas with different names, and call them independently# more devices Alexa-enabled, but I’m guessing that’s coming, and up to the device-manufacturersHighly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
RifkahElmos –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very comfortable and very convenient.
I have really liked my Echo Frames since I’ve gotten them. The Bluetooth isn’t the best audio quality that I have experienced however it is quite good though a bit on the tinny side. As a person who has worn glasses all my life, I have always found over the ear headphones to get uncomfortable and ear buds have always tended to give me pain or they would just fall out with the echo frames however I can truly enjoy what I am listening to in comfort and not have other sounds such as my wife and kids sounding muddled.It does have some drawbacks but nothing that truly makes them terrible for me. I can assume as the technology/software gets better they will be able to fix some of the more annoying things. I.E. Wake word options are only Alexa and Echo. When out in the wild a lot of ladies are named Alexa, and it quite amazing how many words/sounds though out the day can sound like “Echo” and trigger my frames to start listening.In my Opinion getting these on a prime day deal was a good value. And I would recommend them to anyone who wears glasses all the time.Pros:Prescription ReadyFantastic left right/3D audio, (for example ASMR tracks)Very comfortableFast ChargingGreat call mic volume, (Other people hear me great)Swiping the glasses to answer calls is also great.Magnetic charger.I can active Alexa/routines from anywhereCons:Only two wake words available. (Just let me use computer, please!)A little tinnyOnly one size and style of frames (would like smaller ones.)A single charge only lasts me 5-8 hours. I’d like to get 10-12 while listening to audio books at work/home. (Of course as I need to wear prescription glasses, all waking hours would be ideal)You can’t charge while wearing them.It’s a little slow on responsiveness when out in the wild if asking Alexa things like time, weather and such. I find my self repeating the question several times because either I talk too fast, or it just takes longer to process through my poorer phone signal.Overall all my experience with the echo frames has been very positive for the three months that I have had them. It is quite nice to some ask Alexa to call my wife when my hands are full or simply double tap my frames to start my audio book or music.
3 people found this helpful
Ed G. –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Works as promised, but could be better
I was intrigued by the idea of “smart glasses” and had my eye (no pun intended) on the Apple iGlass and Google’s smart glasses but as of the time of me writing this review, they are vapourware. I needed new glasses anyway so I thought I would take a chance on these since there are very few options on the market. I am fully aware that I am an “early adopter” on this product and as such, there might be a few glitches.I had some difficulty getting them set up. I had to contact tech support. It turns out they only work for US customers. As a Canadian, currently staying in the US they wouldn’t work for me until I changed the region for my Amazon account. Very strange. Be aware that they only work for US customers.Once they were setup, they work as advertised. The main benefits are that you have the full functionality of Alexa with you all the time and integrated to the Alexa app on your phone. You also have the function of airpods in your ears without wearing any. That is, if you must wear glasses anyway.There are a few things that I wish could be better. Sound quality is perfect for voice but not very good for music. It’s not quite loud enough (for me anyway) to hear clearly in loud environments.The battery life could be much better. I find if I don’t use Alexa at all, the battery will decline by about 20% just being on over the course of the day. When they’re in use, such as listening to a podcast or a conversation, the battery would discharge at an approximate rate of 1% per minute. So, a 30 minute phone call will drop the battery by 30%. This means that you can only get about 1 ½ hours of actual use on a battery charge. This limits its usefulness over the course of a day. You must remove the glasses and plug them in to charge.The frames are capable of having prescription lenses installed which any optometrist can do. However, the frames cannot be adjusted to fit. How they come is how they are.Also the frames seem to be a little fragile. It’s a little surprising, considering the price. By contrast, the glass case seems to be very robust and the charge cable seems to be very high quality.So, in conclusion: The Amazon echo frames work as they should, but only for US customers, they are good for voice but not so good for music, the battery life limits their use over the course of the day.I recommend them only if you want to be an early adopter to “smart glasses” and are willing to accept its limitations.
Alex –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Game-Changer for the Hearing Impaired.
As someone who relies on hearing aids, finding a solution that allows me to enjoy music or take phone calls without constantly removing them has been a long-standing challenge. That’s why discovering Echo Frames has been an absolute game-changer for me.These innovative glasses have seamlessly integrated smart technology, providing a remarkable solution for the hearing impaired. With Echo Frames, I can now listen to music or have phone conversations without the need to remove my hearing aids. This means no more struggling with headsets or holding the phone up to my ear or relying on speakerphone alone.The convenience and functionality of Echo Frames have truly transformed my day-to-day life. I can now keep my hearing aids in place while immersing myself in music or engaging in important phone calls. It’s a liberating feeling to have this level of connectivity and entertainment without any compromise.What I appreciate the most about Echo Frames is their thoughtful design. The glasses not only deliver exceptional sound quality but also provide a comfortable and stylish fit. They blend seamlessly into my everyday look and have become an essential accessory that enhances both my hearing experience and fashion sense.For anyone who wears hearing aids, Echo Frames are an absolute game-changer. These glasses offer an incredible tool for staying connected, enjoying music, and taking calls without the need to remove your hearing aids. It’s a remarkable combination of accessibility and convenience, tailor-made for the hearing impaired community. I highly recommend Echo Frames to anyone seeking an innovative and empowering solution.
10 people found this helpful
krager5 –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Comfortable
I bought these on Prime Day for $100. For that price and my needs I think it was an excellent value. I use them to listen to music at home. These allow me to listen to music and still be able to hear when my much more than significant other is talking—without irritation of wearing earbuds for a long time.The battery life is meh, but other than that really enjoy them. Sound is not as good as headphones or earbuds, but I was aware of that so no disappointment there. They are stretched to have enough volume when driving in my car which is not a real quiet ride. Comfort is excellent. I feel these are no different than wearing my prescription glasses. And I will be putting prescription lenses in them. Oh, an the ones I bought were ‘prescription ready’ which at the time were $15 less than the blue light version. But they came with blue light lenses anyway! I don’t know if that was a mistake or not, but you may be able to get the ‘prescription ready’ version and save some $$ over blue lenses model if you actually want those. Other than battery life, I love these.A low tech bonus I have discovered is cupping my hands around my ears when I have my elbows on the table and I am watching a video on my laptop…increases the volume dramatically! This is very handy as I mainly use these so my partner can have the silence she loves while I can listen to the music I love. Use with iPhone so never use Alexa.
3 people found this helpful
bryan Sherman –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely game changing———Updated
Update after 1 year of use:::: Battery life is dramatically shorter and Alexa doesn’t work very well anymore. Alexa period has turned to trash though. Sometimes it works sometime it makes me unlock my phone which isn’t on me but in another room before she will do anything. Also watching tv or anyone says the word alexa anywhere around me sets off my glasses and I am sitting there trying to get her to stop outloud. She also turns on randomly and just listens to conversations I am having. They will randomly disconnect from my phone and tell me they are not connected to the network. Wouldn’t purchase these again. The prescription lens cost quite abit. If you wear glasses you know the lens are the most expensive part and for frames that last maybe a year? Also Where I went Lens crafters they said they have to mount your Lens a certain way and it may break the frames and I had to sign a paper stating they arent responsible if the frames break while mounting the lens and I can see a hairline crack in my frames from this. It hasn’t worsened over the year or anything but still kinda shady. That chargers are expensive and it is wise to buy extra and make sure you dony buy the ones where it connects to the glasses sideways cause it wont stay on. I enjoy the glasses when they work but I doubtI will ever purchase another set or the new generation especially since they have new rayban AI glasses with camera and uses AI not crappy Alexa which has apparently not been improved on in a long looooooooong timeWas kinda iffy about changing from traditional frames to these and the Karen I had to work with at lenscrafters didnt exactly ease my mind but once I got them back with my Rx Lenses in them and got to listen for the first time I am convinced I will never wear traditional glasses ever again. Never wore plastic frames like this before and I hated how they kept slipping but twisted one of the wifes hair ties around the ear piece on each side and they dont move ever. Sound is great I can listen to music while im out in public and no one knows. Having Alexas big brain right at my disposal anywhere i go it amazing and only I can hear the information she gives me. I set up reminders and shopping lists when they come to me no matter where I am at and the battery last usually the day unless im heavily using them. They charge very quickly too which is a plus and the sound is very crisp. Overall I am very satisfied with these. My wife wants a pair too just for sunglasses since she doesnt wear glasses so she is waiting for them to go on sale. If you are even thinking about these just go ahead and do it its worth it
4 people found this helpful
Adar KočanAdar Kočan –
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best Smart-glasses on the market
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Pros:Echo and Siri integration on iPhone.Battery life 3-4 hours for phone calls and face time.Can respond to texts.YouTube and YouTube shorts almost feels like the battery doesn’t drain at all.Light weight and can be withstand steam and rain and sweat.Cons:Could be better audio quality but I’m not an audiophile so it’s passable.Battery life can be short if you don’t set to recommended. Auto volume feature on the app will burn through the battery life.No artificial reality features.The bridge connecting both lenses is a bit too flexible for comfort, especially closings the two sides inwards. Feels like it can snap any moment with enough force.Suggestions:The volume and mute buttons are genuinely useless you can program echo to adjust the volume by voice. I would remove that and add more battery in its place. You can also make the width slimmer doing so. Maybe just use a smaller button for connecting/disconnecting if the touch pad on right side can’t do the same function. Or add a left side touch pad. Doing so would almost be able to afford better materials and making the frames even higher in water resistance.I would like there to be artificial reality. Not both of the lenses but one that displays some small basic info would be nice. Like seeing the text or call and potentially seeing maps or other notifications. Kind of like echo show but ar styled.Making the touch areas width thinner by stretching comportments like the ray ban stories do.Making these have styles like in Matte black like ray ban stories do.Final verdict: 4.5 out of 5
413 people found this helpful
SAAP USASAAP USA –
1.0 out of 5 stars
Poor build quality
Update: 15th June, 2022. The frame broke down near the temple (photos attached) even with my ultra-careful handling and removing the glasses with both hands when not used. Very disappointed with durability of the product. As I am using them with prescription lenses with no insurance coverage, I have to use them. So, tried attaching it with superglue which worked for a few hours only and the parts separated. Tried 3M tape, it held for a few days but drags my hair out every time I remove the frame. Again did not keep the frame together. Chatted with Amazon but they just offered 15% discount if I order again! Thinking if the cost is worth buying at all or worth recommending echo frames to others. Feel sad I bought two frames and gifted. Wonder when they will break down. Disclaimer: I am an Alexa addict and have almost all the Echo Shows/Echo Dots/Echo Spots/Echo Auto etc etc.I bought the Generation 1 Echo Frames and have been using it for nearly 2 months.Got my prescription lenses fitted immediately. Told them not to bend the frame or apply any heat as mentioned in the Instructions supplied.What I liked:1) I was excited that I can hear the phone calls without others nearer to me listening to it,. When I use a phone esp iPhone, others can distinctly hear. Privacy is nice to have.2) Having Alexa on the go is very useful. (I have Echo Auto but when I am out of the car, the Echo Frames help to maintain all things done with Echo Auto)The facility to instruct Alexa to turn on the lights and airconditioner (living in a temperate area) is cool.3) Quick listening to the news or podcast as I walk to my work place is very useful.4) Last but not the least: With my daily work in Covid ICU, it is a greatly useful appliance as I don’t have to zip down my PPE to take my plastic-covered mobile phone to answer urgent calls. The fact that I can slide the right temple bar to answer the calls is a great relief. But I take care to use an alcohol wipe to clean the frame though I wash my hands/gloves with soap/water or alcohol sanitizer after patient contact. It’s a boon to Health Care Workers in this current pandemic. I strongly recommend. How about a special offer for the front line workers, Amazon??What I would have liked more:1) The sound quality is very good; but when someone around makes a loud conversation or a bit more noise around, I need to press the volume increase button and lower it later. I wish Amazon engineers incorporate some sort sound levelling so the audio quality reaching our ear adjusts with the ambient noise; will help the user a lot of hassle.2) Battery power is not great; lasts almost a day. I believe Gen 2 is better. (I ordered 2nd one and to use it as sunglasses). I ordered a spare charging cable and keep in my hospital office room lest I lose the chance to charge in case.3) Would have preferred a bit lighter frame, and thinner sides, though the current one is not that heavy.4) If they have optional Echo Frames that come with dark glasses of different tint/shade to use as sunglasses, it will be very nice. Especially if they come polarized, with UV protection, scratch guard, antifog etc.5) Would have preferred a bit lower cost. Say $150 or so. But with the current demand, I doubt Amazon will reduce it!! Hope to get some good deal in Prime Day Sale to gift to someone. A lot of my friends are ordering them too esp those working Covid wards!!6) Would like to know if they can be cleaned/sterilized with the alcohol wipes or something safe and can be kept in UV-C light boxes. Instructions that came with Echo Frames mention not to use abrasive agents or alcohol, I think. I do keep them in my UV-C sterilizing box daily after my work. So far no issues. Touch wood.7) I don’t like the Echo Frame getting automatically connected to the mobile phone once the charging is over and the charging cable is disconnected. Good if you use the frame immediately but drains the battery if you leave it overnight.Thanks Amazon for bringing out a very useful appliance; a lot more useful than the Echo Dots, and Echo Shows.I tried ordering a smaller size for my wife but they are not available currently. 🙁
342 people found this helpful
Evan Stone –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly Good
I honestly am not one to take the time to write a review for a product, but when I saw that one of the top reviews for this product was from a guy who bashed it with incoherent and nonsensical information, I knew I had to say something.The Echo Frames surprised me – in a good way. I received these as a gift for Christmas from my brother who likes to find oddball things to gift me every year. When I first unwrapped the gift, I took it for what I initially thought it was: a funny gag gift. I chuckled to myself when I saw them. I mean really, Amazon Alexa glasses? I agreed with some of the reviewers that commented about why would you want something with Alexa on them when you already have Alexa in your house or can simply look up information on your smartphone. I mean who was this intended for?Then, I put them on and connected it to my phone. I opened the Alexa app and paired it up with my phone within about 2-3 minutes. And then I was suddenly taken aback as soon as I was greeted by Alexa saying “ready for setup”. Where was this audio coming from? It sounded as though it was coming from someone speaking right behind me into my ear. It was the most surreal feeling and it leads me into my first point.AUDIO:The way they created the audio on this thing is pretty amazing. It’s an open ear audio system which basically is just a simplified way of saying that they put speakers into the frames that direct audio toward your ear without actually having to place something inside of your ear canal. I was skeptical of how this would work at first, but I found that it works really well. As I described it before, it’s almost like someone who is talking right beside you into your ear. It does play back music decently as well. No, you are not going to find any bass or depth to music here, just decent enough to listen to your tracks without feeling like you’re being cheated out of a good experience. I would remind you that these are very small speakers that fit inside the frame of the glasses we are talking about here, so for anyone to expect some deep bass or to have it be the same as listening to in-ear headphones is setting themselves up for disappointment. So, why even bother listening to music on these then? Well because the biggest pros of them being an open system are that it leaves your ears free and clear to be able to listen to the environment around you. Especially if you are working in an environment where it’s important to be able to hear when you are needed by someone or to be able to be cognizant of the world around you, these are great. I was also nervous from how loud they sound when they are on that others would be able to hear my music or whenever I receive a private notification, but amazingly nobody can hear a thing unless they are putting their ear right next to your frames. I have surprised many people that were amazed by how they sound when they are on versus how quiet they are when they are not directly on you. So, do not worry about other people being able to hear what you are listening to. Even though it sounds loud for you, nobody else can hear what is going on.USAGE:I primarily use these to listen to music while working as I think they are beneficial to be able to allow me to both listen to a song and be aware of what all is happening around me. I don’t have to take headphones out of my ear and say “What was that?” when someone is asking me a question. I am sure you are wondering though: “are they really smart glasses?” And the answer is yes, and they are surprisingly good at being them too. First of all, as you can already guess this thing has everything Alexa built into it. So anything you would normally ask Alexa to do, this thing can do it. Beyond that, it can make or receive calls, create text messages or read them aloud (you have to swipe the frame for it to actually read the message – it doesn’t want to just announce every text message that comes in unless you want to hear it), and it is able to tell you notifications from any first or third party app on your device. It can even read your third party app messages if you so choose. Now, you might be asking: does it tell me every single notification on my device or will it read private messages out loud for everyone to hear? Which brings me to my next point:PRIVACY:Now, you should know that buying any kind of Amazon device means that you are basically going to be saying that you are fine with Alexa knowing some things about you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even be on this product page. I will say however that I have appreciated the approach the Echo Frames has to dealing with how it interacts with your phone. By default, the Echo Frames will only do as much as you allow it. Let me explain. When you first set up the Frames, it has basic functions set up by default such as acting as a bluetooth headset and being able to answer phone calls. That is about it. Everything else is in your control. So, you can pick and choose what applications or messages you want the Frames to notify you about and what permissions you are enabling. Do you want to be notified when someone Snapchats you or messages you on Instagram? If so, then you have to use the Alexa app to select that function to be enabled. It won’t even allow you to send text messages to people unless you set the permissions under the Alexa app to do so. This can of course be cumbersome if you would like to enable a lot of functions or ability to message a lot of contacts, but I like that Amazon designed it to be more private than open.BATTERY:The guy who said the battery drains in 20 minutes flat is just plain wrong. Even if you have the volume cranked up to max, the battery would still last at least an hour. I found that with the volume at 40-50% (which again is plenty loud unless you’re outside walking a busy street), I was able to get about 8-10 hours of music playing. It charges up quick too so as long as you have your charger you can plug it in for about 5-10 minutes and it’ll be good to go for another few hours. I did give this only 3 stars for the battery because I do think it is the one major area that this device can improve on in the future, but to say it’s completely inadequate is just false.OVERALL:I think it’s a great device and I hope they come out with a 3rd generation that improves on the battery and maybe adds some more abilities as well. Don’t pay attention to the negative reviews, I think the ones that say 1 or 2 star are completely overblowing it. There are of course areas where this device can improve, but for $250 a lot of my friends thought this device was worth twice that amount. They were amazed by just how well they work and I think you will too.
78 people found this helpful
TFMethane –
4.0 out of 5 stars
1st gen had issues – spent $$$ on lenses & have to buy 2nd gen full price to make it worth it
Update up front after using Gen 2 frames:- still consider whether you want to buy expensive lenses to put in these frames. The frames themselves aren’t all that great as glasses (plastic is shiny and doesn’t feel sturdy, and the style might not work for you.- Upgraded battery life is much much better. Lasts a full 12 hour shift, when I have a bunch of 1-2 minute phone calls all night long. I estimate a combined 12h standby and 2hrs talk before the battery dies. You still need to buy extra charge cables to have one in your car and one at home at least. Very convenient to charge while driving if you have a USB port close to your body (i.e. in your center console)- Still a pain in the butt if you have any FireTV or echo show devices in your house. No matter what I or my wife or kids do, everytime anyone says Alexa, my frames take over and are unable to control the echo show or the TV. I have to remember to turn off the glasses. It would be much better if I could just leave the “always listening” feature off and tap the button on the frames to then speak a command.- auto off when you put the lenses down of the table does save battery, but then they don’t turn back on when you put them on… You have to consciously turn them back on. This is a bigger problem than you’d think. Whenever a machine does something without alerting you and then you have to know/remember to undo it, it’s annoying. This is way more annoying than if it would just save battery by leaving the always-listen feature off and require a button push every single time – you would get used to that.- Automatic volume function greatly improves the privacy and usability in noisy vs. quiet environments. Well done Amazon. This gets you a bump to 4 stars. There is still a strange bug in that if you are using auto volume, then you want to override by tapping volume up on your frames, it cycles down to zero volume first, rather than starting at the current volume. This confused me the first few times it happened, and I though I’d hung up on the other person. Seems it would make more sense to just temporarily override starting at the current volume, until you’re done listening to the current thing, or when this phone call is done.- Amazon reduced the touch sensitivity, it seems. That has helped with accidental touches. But really, you just need to learn to carefully only touch your frames by pinching from above and below when you put them on/take them off. Or you can put them on by grabbing them by the ear bends and wrapping them around your ears, rather than by grabbing them close to the hinges. Honestly, now I’m annoyed that the touch/swipe seems to not work as well. This is a balance, and it would be good if they had a setting you could change.-PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LET US CHANGE THE WAKE WORD! For goodness sakes a;ready.- Voice calling works much better now.- seems like the sound quality is better, but it’s hard to say. Still not as good as proper earbuds, but that isn’t what you’re buying these for.- I haven’t even tried SMS on the 2nd gen frames. It was such a bad experience on the 1st gen, (not that it works well with google, either), that I’ve pretty much accepted that hands free voice texting is not in my near future. I still voice type, but open up my phone to control the experience.ORIGINAL REVIEW (Based on 1st gen echo frames)I bought the first gen echo frames. Because of Pandemic I didn’t get the chance to get lenses in them until later in 2020. My lenses are kind of expensive (around $400) because of my particular vision issues. While I love the promise of this device, there are serious issues with the 1st gen that make them frustrating to keep using. I originally wrote this review in a state of frustration that Amazon overlooked me as an early user for the $70 upgrade to gen2. I paid full price to upgrade to gen 2 and will edit this review once I have a chance to use the new ones. I’ve edited this review to remove the parts motivated by my frustration with Amazon, as it has nothing to do with the product itself. As part of that, I increased from 2 to 3 stars. Amazon did call me after my initial 2 star review,, but to their credit they did not offer to refund all or part of my 2nd gen purchase price, which I view as an important sign of their integrity in this review process.However, the cost of having to buy the next generation and how it irritated me to now be more than $600 into a pair of glasses is a lesson to any of you: Consider whether you want to wait for the next generation to come out if you have expensive lenses.Review of the product:I really enjoy having the always-on notifications, and it’s really great being able to have a phone call while still being able to hear things around you, and without having to put earbuds into your ear first or walking around with earbuds in constantly. The freedom really is very very nice.There is an issue with accidental touching of the side of the frames causing notifications to be dismissed or announced again, or for playback to stop/start randomly, or for you to hang up on someone. You can’t take your glasses off to clean them during a phone call, for example or you’re probably going to hang up.When you have the volume turned up full, the sound is definitely audible and clear to people near you. Not necessarily a bad thing if you want to include someone next to you in the phone call.When you have it at about a 2 or a 3 (which is very audible to the wearer in a relatively quiet room), people around you will not be able to understand the conversation, but they will probably hear a faint something. Just be aware to keep the volume as low as you can for privacy reasons. Obviously if you keep it just above the level that is clear to you, then people around you won’t be able to eavesdrop. (I tested this feature on someone else’s face).These are almost unusable in your home if you have echo or alexa devices. The wake work on the frames cannot be changed from Alexa, and you can’t disable the always-listening feature without turning the frames completely off. Not only is this a battery drain, but if you ask you FireTV, for example, to open Netflix, the frames respond and won’t allow the FireTV to receive the command. You have to turn your frames off by holding down the power button for 3 seconds before you can speak a command to your fireTV. There is no way I could find to link your frames to control a specific TV (not that this would be good in my house anyway, since we have 3 FireTV’s). The only other choice is to change the wake word on your other devices. Currently I have my FireTVs responding to “Alexa” and my echo show responding to “echo.” This is a good solution for us because you use them for different things. To integrate my frames into the household, I’d have to change my household devices to wake with “amazon” or “computer” in order to deconflict with my echo frames. This is a pain in the butt for the rest of the family to have to learn new ways of addressing the devices just so I can wear these frames, and my wife asked me not to do it. Amazon should allow you to change the wake word on the frames, or allow you to disable the always-listening feature. It would actually be my preference to just tap the alexa button on my frames to get it to listen for commands, just like the button on the fireTV remote. It already has this feature (tap the power button once and the blue light comes on and you can speak a command without saying “Alexa.” I do this most of the time anyway, because when I’m out and about, I don’t want to be saying “alexa, call john” when I’m walking around a store or at work. I really don’t want the always-listening feature in almost any situation. I’m sure a lot of you would agree.The battery life is abysmal. I had charged to 100% today while I was sleeping, then got right on a zoom meeting using the echo frames. It was an hour long meeting. I was at 10% battery at the end of the meeting. So you have 1 hour talk time before you have to charge. I work 12 hour shifts, and even if I don’t talk at all, I have to charge at least once per shift, usually around hour 10. The charge cable is a proprietary magnetic cable, which it has to be since you’re going to have to charge this while wearing it sometimes (because of the poor battery life), unless you carry a spare set of glasses to wear while it’s charging – which defeats the main purpose of these. So, you have to either buy multiple cables to keep them at work/home/car, or you have to be extra sure to carry it with you in your pocket all the time and never accidentally leave it at work. This requires too much minding for a device whose main appeal is convenience.Commands for phone control (galaxy note 10+ on latest android version) are really poor. If I say “alexa, call john smith,” about 1/2 times it actually makes the phone call when I have the phone turned on in front of me. If the phone is in my pocket, it’s about 1/5 of the time, and it takes 10-20 seconds to start the call. And there’s absolutely zero confirmation that it’s working during that 10-20 seconds. It should say “calling john smith” to let you know the command was received. Since it doesn’t, I don’t keep tapping the command button to restate the command… Hands free phone control is about as good as bixby or google assistant were when they first came out… maybe worse. I’ll update this after I use the gen2. Note: I’m using a galaxy note 10+.SMS messaging is also extremely spotty. I activated SMS control within the alexa app and gave it access to everything it wanted, so that’s not the problem. The problem is it just doesn’t seem to even recognize I’m trying to send a text. 99% of the times I tried it, it failed for one reason or another. A few times it recognized my text message, but just never sent it. I’m using google messaging app for my default text messaging app. (By the way, I’m a native US english speaker without any speech pathology, and with a southern california accent).Regarding charging: There is a substantial delay after you connect the charge cable before you know anything is happening. The red light inside the frame comes on after about 3 seconds and there is a quiet chime from the speakers, and then several seconds go by before the charging light on the temple arm comes on. The problem with this is most of the time you’re charging it with the glasses off, so you can’t hear or see the indicator that the cable has connected. For weeks I thought I had a bad charge cable and kept fiddling with it and flipping it around, because I’d connect it and there would be no indication (so I thought) that it was charging for a good 10 seconds. There should be an immediate blinking light or something inform you that the charge cable has been correctly engaged. And it should be visible when you aren’t wearing the glasses right away.It is fairly convenient to charge the glasses while you are wearing them. It would be nice if you could tap the temple or a button while it is charging to have it tell you how full the battery is if you’re wearing while charging. Currently you have to disconnect the cable, wait for it to connect to the phone via bluetooth, and then it will announce “connected… battery at 60%.” If you have notifications pending, they will play immediately when you reconnect, and sometimes they will play over the battery percentage alert. If you’re driving and don’t want to look at your phone, you have to reconnect the cable, wait for the charging handshake to happen and for the light in your eye to turn off, then disconnect the cable again and let it reconnect so you can hear the percentage charge again. Annoying.It is very nice when you are wearing the frames and charging that sometimes the sound output still works. It’s weird when you’re charging with your glasses on the table and it doesn’t work. Since it’s obviously possible to use them while charging, it’s weird they don’t make it work consistently, and recognize when they’re being worn vs. on the table. Maybe gen2 will have this feature. It’s very sweet to be able to use the frames while they are charging. Amazon should figure out how to make this work everytime. Manufacturers have mostly fixed this with watches and earbuds and cars – disabling the audio stream to a device when you don’t want it and enabling it when you do… Amazon just needs to fix it in software for the frames.Build quality: Not gonna lie, there is a little creakiness to these frames. Maybe that’s related to the way my optician installed the lenses, but they don’t feel sturdy like many other glasses with similar thick frames would. I’m definitely going to take care not to fall asleep in these frames. Also, the glasses don’t fold completely shut. The bulky temple pieces hit each other. It feels like you could force them to fold completely shut and break them – and that’s probably whey Amazon sends them in such a huge case – so you don’t close them all the way.Sound quality: again, this is said to be better in Gen2 than Gen 1. I’ll update with the info. There is absolutely no bass. But the sound quality is very good for phone calls, listening to audiobooks/podcasts, etc. You won’t want to use these for listening to music or watching anything but basic youtube videos on your phone. But for those applications, it is so so nice to just pick up your phone and start using it, and magically you have the sound right in your ears without bothering others with it – all while still hearing things around you. Anyway, you’ll want to keep your good earbuds in your pocket for when you want to listen to music or watch StarWars on your phone.Altogether, the promise of this tech is excellent. I can afford to buy another pair to continue with the experiment, and I’m glad it appears the lenses from gen 1 will fit in gen 2. Hopefully they’ll come up with some software fixes to improve integration with phones and with the rest of the echo ecosystem.
216 people found this helpful
Ethan Wells –
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 stars – but not for everyone (SEE UPDATES)
I purchased the first generation Echo Frames back in February of 2020, and upgraded to the 2nd generation about a year later. My review will be divided into three parts: aesthetics, functionality and reservations.1. Aesthetics. I initially was concerned about how these frames would look. In particular, I was afraid they would be bulky – especially the temples (i.e. the part of the glasses connecting the lenses to your ears), where most of the electronics are. Have no fear on this point – I’ve been wearing these frames for the better part of a year, and not only has no one ever said anything to me about them (unless I start interacting with Alexa), but I’ve never even noticed anyone looking at them funny. I think this may be because one tends to look directly at another person’s face, thereby losing the depth perception that would make the temples more noticeable.The frames themselves are inoffensive. While they may not be for everyone, they will look fine on most people, regardless of age or gender. Think of them as new-nerdy-chic.2. Functionality. Overall, I have been very pleased with the functionality of my frames. I use them primarily for phone calls and for listening to music, podcasts or baseball games in situations were I need to be able to hear what is going on around me. The phone call quality is excellent: not only can I hear exceptionally well, but I’ve been told by those on the other end of the line that they can hear me better than when I am speaking directly into my phone. Upon a moment’s reflection, this isn’t hard to understand. The frames sit on your nose, an inch or two above your mouth. The mics have been well placed to take advantage of this proximity and – unlike when you’re holding a phone in your hand – their placement with respect to your mouth is not constantly changing.In general, listening to music, podcasts or baseball has also been a positive experience. You shouldn’t expect Bose-quality surround sound, and the frames definitely won’t bring out the best of, eg. Yo-Yo Ma, but the sound quality is fine – especially for podcasts and baseball games. In most situations, I can hear whatever I am listening to without entirely tuning out the outside world and without everyone around me hearing it too (something I wish I had 15 years ago, when I was working in a cubicle next to my supervisor). This is especially useful for me now: since the pandemic began, I’ve been at home with my 4 year old kid most of the time. I can’t afford to have earbuds in when I’m watching him, since I need to be able to respond to him and to hear him when I can’t see him. My Echo frames allow me to listen to the news or make a phone call while watching him at the playground, going on a walk, or doing things around the house. I also find them useful for outdoor activities near the home. For instance, I have a flock of chickens. I try to let them out in the yard as often as possible, but need to watch them closely to protect them from coyotes and hawks. My frames allow me to interact with my wife by phone or listen to a podcast while also being able to hear, eg., my chickens’ warning cry when they see a threat. Very useful.I have found the frames less useful in more urban settings. I live in greater Boston, in one of those quaint small New England towns 10 minutes from the city. When I am in the town center, I find the frames more or less useless. Why? When a car passes me on the sidewalk, I can’t hear whatever I’m listening to. I can turn up the volume – but once the car has passed, the volume is ludicrously loud. I can decrease the volume – but traffic is such that a car will pass every half a minute or so. So to use them effectively in this setting, I’d basically have to keep my finger on the volume button at all times – which would make me look kind of like Cyclops from the X-Men right before he blasts someone. Perhaps I would find this less annoying in Boston proper, where a steadier flow of traffic would allow me to keep the volume on max all the time.In terms of battery life: I find I can wear my glasses all day, using them intermittently, without any difficulty. In terms of continuous use: I can listen to a baseball game or talk on the phone for about 2 hours before I start getting a low-battery warning. Overall, I find this quite satisfactory.3. Reservations. As noted above, I find the frames more or less useless in situations where the background noise varies in its intensity from moment to moment. This may in part be because my own hearing isn’t great.I also find myself thinking a few easy-to-add features would significantly improve the Echo Frames. A reading light would be really useful for, eg. reading in bed without disturbing your partner. And a find-my-glasses feature would be much appreciated. This latter feature represents a level of functionality that the engineers at Amazon have not yet explored: features designed for when you’re *not* actively using your glasses.Overall, I am pleased enough with my glasses that I went ahead and purchased a Gen 2 set. I think they are ideal for parents, for folks whose work spaces prohibit listening to the radio, and for certain outdoor activities. If, however, you’re going to use them primarily in an environment where the level of background noise is constantly varying, you should prepare to be disappointed.***UPDATE ON PRIVACY 03/02/2021*** A lot of reviewers have expressed concerns over privacy. While there are very legitimate privacy concerns with respect to any Echo (Google, Facebook, Apple) device, as well as with respect to the Alexa app or, for that matter, most other apps that are *already* running on your phone, I fail to see how the frames by themselves pose any greater privacy risk than just the Alexa app, since not only can you turn off, mute, or disconnect the frames at any point, but Alexa is not actually integrated into them. Rather, the frames communicate with the Alexa app on your phone; without the app, they are glorified earbuds. So any privacy concerns – which are, to be clear, real enough – are more properly addressed to the app than to the frames. To claim, then, that the frames allow “24/7” tracking is both untrue and laughable (the frames only have an 8-10 hour battery life); the concern animating this misplaced criticism is one that could be legitimately raised against many, many apps and is, ultimately, an argument for not having a smart phone. For those who have already integrated smart phones into their daily lives, the privacy cat may well be already out of the bag…****UPDATE 04/12/22****I updated to the gen 2 frames, and was pleased with them until recently. “Until recently” because the frames have become increasingly unreliable. Over and over again, when I use the wake word “Alexa,” I am advised I need to unlock my phone. This despite the fact that my phone is (a) unlocked and (b) remains unlocked when connected to the frames. This appears to be a problem affecting many of Amazon’s wearables (eg. Echo Buds). Until it is resolved, the frames don’t accomplish their number one function, namely, allowing one to interact with the Alexa assistant. I have, for this reason, changed my 5 star review to a 2 star review. If this problem persists, I’ll change my review to a single star. I strongly urge Amazon to rectify this problem asap. Until then, these frames are not worth the investment.****UPDATE 07/06/22****Amazon appears to have corrected the problem with its wearables thinking the phone is locked, so I have restored two stars to my review.
3,544 people found this helpful
Ian Sprenkle –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great glasses, Alexa is lackluster
Pros: – The glasses look great and are quite comfy. They don’t slide down my nose easily and frame my face very well.- While it lacks bass, the audio quality is *crisp.* My car radio is broken, so I use these to listen to music on my daily commute. Incomparable to the car speakers, but still significantly better than many cheap headphones I’ve used – it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from a tin can.- The speakers are manufactured in a way where those around me can’t hear what I’m listening to unless it’s at max volume, and even then they can only hear that it’s noise, not the actual song or call.- These are great for calls. They’re compatible with my iPhone’s environmental noise canceling, and people have never had trouble hearing me. I’ve only ever struggled to hear them in a noisy environment, such as walking by a busy road.- The battery typically lasts all day. I get up around 7 AM and go to bed around 11 PM; typically, they’re at ~15% by the end of the day.- The glasses charge fairly quickly. They’re usually fully charged from 0% in ~1.5hrs.Cons:- Alexa is terrible. After using Google Assistant for years, Amazon’s virtual assistant doesn’t even come close. Basic requests aren’t understood, and it often gives incorrect or useless information. It has no contextual awareness, and is unable to do anything from one device to another (set alarm on Bedroom, etc.)- The Bluetooth is unreliable. Sometimes the glasses will reset randomly, and sometimes only the left side will work. It will chirp while trying to balance the speakers, but the only way to fix this is to reconnect to the phone.- The charging cable is trash. It connects via two magnets and is certainly better than what Gen 3 uses, but the magnets aren’t designed correctly and the cable sometimes doesn’t attach straight, resulting in the glasses not charging.Summary:This is the first pair of smart glasses I’ve owned. While Alexa is always disappointing and the Bluetooth connection is unreliable, for my purposes they’re great. They’re comfy, don’t slip, and look good. It’s a shame Gen 3 is so bad – I hope Gen 4 fixes the wireless charging, and Alexa needs a complete revamp to be comparable to its competitors.
MariaBrandie –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cleaning=full time job/Can’t charge & use simultaneously/MAPS, WAZE DON’T work if on a call!
I have been using these over the course of a few months now. I have the 2nd Gen Echo Frames Glasses. I gave them a 3… because I couldn’t give a 2.5.What I like:**clear calls, I can drive and be hands free with my vents on full blast, wipers on, rain pounding… and calls are clear, I can hear them and they can hear me perfectly.**as long as I keep the volume to a LOW minimum, the battery lasts a good while – more on this below later.**the blue light filter option is incredible and my eyes don’t feel as strained at the e d of the day.**Alexa integration- more on this below later.**they do charge from fully drained to fully charged at a decent speed; but that’s a lot of work that can’t be done if one is reliant on the blue screen filter (more below later).What is an Opportunity for improvement:**these slide down my face ALL. THE. TIME, the frames look amazing; but they aren’t weighted well. This inevitable movement is slower if i dont move my head much and keep it tilted slightly upwards; however, as soon as I begin speaking they slide down. In my position, I have to speak a lot; so I’m constantly pushing them back up which is annoying.**the battery, if up to a volume where you can hear when in a bustling, busy environment, or noisy vehicle, drains rapidly.**you cannot charge your glasses while using them – this is probably my SECOND highest area of “Opportunity for Improvement” – how is one to work if they can’t charge them (when the battery drains so quickly if utilizing them in an actual business setting) while using them… so are we supposed to buy ANOTHER pair of blue light glasses to wait for these to charge?? Kinda defeats the purpose of getting these if I have to get another, supplemental pair… I don’t understand why you can’t use, or even WEAR, them while they’re charging. Once the charger is attached the connection is severed – NONE of my other Bluetooth devices do this – COMPLETE ENGINEER FAIL!!! And if that’s not bad enough, if one were to not need to utilize the electronics, and only want to use the blue light filter to work while charging them, one can’t because the charging cord isn’t long enough to do that with!! EPIC FAIL!!!!**other than Alexa integration, are these worth the price when you are able to purchase a much more affordable pair that can be utilized to make calls and have a blue light filter – and for this price, buy a few pair to change out if charging… the Echo Frames don’t have video capabilities, or even sound recording capabilities, they aren’t water resistant, let alone waterprood, so don’t ever be caught without an umbrella, EVER… just doesn’t have the technology & features other frames have right now.**Alexa gets it wrong A LOT… most of the time I have to just manually find the person in my contacts, or list out the numbers I need to call instead of the names in my contacts because Alexa can’t understand the names. So I have to memorize all the numbers to call, or use the phone manually which isn’t safe when driving… but the time when I most frequently use Alexa.**the number ONE “Opportunity for Improvement”… CONSTANTLY have to clean these, no cleaner given, or even suggested… just that stupid, WORTHESS, teeny, tiny towel that only spears oils and doesn’t pick anything up off the lenses. One can’t use spray cleaner/soap & water due to the electronics, I have to carry a microfiber towel that is for auto glass cleaning & attracts dirt/oil. It’s about the size of one and a half hand towels & 3 times as thick (which is why it actually works as the fibers trap dirt/oils)… so not exactly portable/commute friendly. And when I say constantly, I mean CONSTANTLY… SEVERAL times an hour or they become foggy and you can’t see well… I feel like this is because the lenses are not glass. And this constanly stresses me out that they’re going to crack when trying to clean them because you have to use a good amount of pressure to get the oil/dirt off.**GOOGLE MAPS/WAZE do NOT work if you are on a call ****LESSON LEARNED THE HARD WAY**** Google Maps/Waze do not voice over calls as they do when using speakers or speaker phone on your cell. Just WHY?!?!?!?! I don’t understand this at all???? So you’re supposed to stare at your phone or not have a conversation at all during a 5 hour roadtrip?! Number three “Opportunity for Improvement” area!! Another EPIC FAIL in my book!! Highly disappointed with this!All in all, I gave them a 3… because I couldn’t give a 2.5 & while I do love the convience of the clear calls & being able to talk hands free… and I will say that when it works properly, the Alexa integration is nice to have… but certainly the cost isn’t justifiable for Alexa functioning properly LESS than 50% of the time.I would NOT recommend purchasing these until these issues are addressed UNLESS you are not going to use the bluetooth often, & then go with the less expensive brands that have Bluetooth. I, personally, would NOT purchase another pair without the top “Opportunities for Improvement” being addressed, and honestly, would have sent them back if all of these issues manifested themselves within the first day or two of use.If knowing what I do now, I would have purchased a couple pair with blue light filters that were simply Bluetooth integrated & capable of making calls/listening to music, and saved myself the money and stress of missing exits, constantly charging, and constantly cleaning…If these issues are resolved in future versions, I’d possible reconsider purchasing; but if all that I get is Alexa that gets it wrong 60-70% of the time, even with these issues resolved, I’d probably still get two pair of the $30-$40 blue light filter/Bluetooth sound frames and call it a day!
46 people found this helpful
Damon V –
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good, but not great, pair of glasses
I’ve been casually following these since they were in the first gen and when they went on sale during the time I needed to get new glasses I decided to give them a try.I took them to Lenscrafters and while the salesperson that I dealt with directly hadn’t seen them before, there were a couple of other employees in the store who knew what they were and how they needed to have special handling. I got my lenses ordered and a few days later picked them up.I have a large-ish head and I needed to have an adjustment made to the frames for a fit to keep them from sliding off my face. I may need to make another adjustment as they are starting to slip a little bit again. I might need to add some nose pads to keep them in place a little better.By and large they are comfortable. The biggest issue is with the slippage and it will rest on the bridge of my nose and after a bit that gets uncomfortable, which is usually only noticed late at night. The larger ear pieces are not really noticeable when it comes to wearing them. They are surprisingly light considering the extra bulk. The full plastic build on these makes them feel a little cheapish, but also allows for comfort.I’ve been given lots of compliments on the look. This is a big departure from my minimalist frames that I’ve had before. Only a couple have noticed the thicker arms.Sound on them is good, not great. For calls they work really well. Music and podcasts are ok, provided there is minimal background noise. Sound leakage does occur too, so be aware that if you are listening to something loud enough and you are close-ish to someone else they will be able to hear snippets of things. Obviously with the small size and no enclosure there is minimal bass to the music, but for listening to music/podcasts/etc while working to have some background noise they work well.The Alexa integration is also just kind of ok. You can get notifications from your phone and you can ask Alexa do to a lot of the things your home echo devices do, but some of it misses the mark a bit. I use the shopping list feature often. I tried to have Alexa read my shopping list to me while in the store and due to the background noise I couldn’t really hear it, then I looked like an idiot telling Alexa to repeat while I was by myself, no phone in hand, no earpiece in, etc. I find that there is sometimes a delay when trying to send commands to my glasses, and I haven’t quite found the sweet spot in my volume when speaking to Alexa, especially when others are around. Trying to be quiet and inconspicuous doesn’t really work, but at the same time, talking excessively loud makes other people stare at you.Notifications and response is a miss in my book. I get a lot of notifications, and you can set a filter to only notify of certain notifications, but you have to respond to every one to generate the list, vs just being able to pick from applications that you want to get notified from. You can have texts read to you automatically, but this gets a little bit cludgy if you get multiple texts in a row, especially from the same person, as Alexa will announce the full name of the person sending each text. You can limit these notifications to specific people, but in a regular conversation with my wife where we can go back and forth for a bit throughout the day this is just annoying. There’s also no way to respond back to the messages yet, although this might come in a future software update.The biggest advantage of these, in my opinion, is the ability to take calls. A simple swipe answers the call and a tap hangs up. I haven’t had anyone complain about sound quality while talking with me or picking up background noise. Clarity is good on my end as well. This has been especially handy for calling customer service lines with extended hold times.Battery life is decent. They typically last me all day with average use. On a couple of heavy use days where I was on a lot of calls or listening to a lot of music through the day I did notice the battery drained much earlier in the day. At that point they were just regular glasses and that was fine.All in all I’m happy with my purchase. I can see room for improvement but also accept them where they are. I may be a bit spoiled with the phone call feature, so that may influence future purchases.
31 people found this helpful
Justin –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent glasses that serve as a great everyday accessory.
I purchased this device about 8 months ago and it’s been a daily use item for me once I got the lenses upgraded to prescription lenses. I’m very happy with where this product currently is, but some improvements could certainly be made.Notes:- At $260, it’s way too steep of a price. I purchased these at around $130 on sale and feel that it’s a very fair price point there, especially for those that need prescription.- Getting VSP to refund the lenses is a pain in the backside. Amazon makes this seem MUCH easier than it is so be warned of that.Pros:- Good battery life, typically lasts me the majority of my workday. Lasts about 4-6 hours depending on volume and if I’m pausing to focus on work or conversations. Would like to see this improved in the next revision, of course, 8 hours of playtime would be ideal.- Shipping the frames off to have the prescription lenses installed (by Boomerang Lenses) was a breeze. Got them back within a week of shipping them off.- Ability to turn off mic and notifications directly from the lenses at will is a plus. There are times when these notifications can be very distracting.- Comfortable and stylish. Even with the thicker temples due to the speakers/batteries, they don’t look *too* techy. Thankfully there are no external lights that blink/flash when in use besides the self-revealing one on the inside by the bridge, which others can’t see.- Maximum volume is good enough to hear even in warehouse settings. Once you’re in an area over 80dB though, the background of the music can become a bit muddled underneath all the noise (but not the vocals), but very understandable why.- Controls feel decent. Volume up/down and Echo buttons work without issue. Swipe and tap (double tap to resume) can be a bit hit or miss as the zone of activity isn’t that well revealed.Cons:- Volume control is limited, meaning that if you’re in a VERY quiet location like an office, the lowest volume setting can still be distracting enough during a conversation. I would like to see this have a bit more control and range.- (minor) The device is a little trigger happy on when it hears “Echo” or, at least, when it think it does. You’ll often hear the ping and see the light that the device is waiting for a prompt, but quickly dismisses itself when it realizes you’re just having a conversation or if it was just background noise.- The plastic doesn’t feel of the highest quality, which I expect at such a steep price point. I’m always nervous with these, on or off my face, since they do tend to squeak a lot when being handled.- The adjustable temple tips are not as adjustable as advertised. I personally had to add a silicone grip to the temple tips to keep them more in place.- Setting up the notifications in the VIP Filter is annoying because you can’t proactively set what notifications come through. You have to wait until a notification pops up on your phone, then the frames will ask if you would like to enable/disable that type of notification, which prompts you to swipe to enable or tap to disable. This should be changed.- Would like to see the case have built in charging in the future, especially at the current price point. With the contact points being the means of charging, it seems very intuitive that the case should be integrated with the charging as others of its kind have been.
5 people found this helpful
THATCHMAN1 –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly useful, not perfect, but worthy.
When I think about these glasses, I think:GlassesSunglassesAlexa GlassesEach of those have a time when its appropriate to use them.I don’t wear these all the time, but at times when I’d like to have some music without wearing ear buds, or want to be on a phone call while doing something with my hands ( like yard work, gardening) or when I need to stay connected to messaging or work chat while not able to be at the computer.People tell me they are stylish. I don’t mind the style. They do look good, but for me, I struggle a bit to keep them from sliding down. While I am not Asian, I often buy Asian Fit frames (like Oakley) because they stay up better for me with a low bridge and small nose. I am still experimenting with ear adjusting to see if I can get them to fit better and not slide down.Battery life is “okay”. I don’t wear them full time, so I am often making sure they are charged up when I do want to grab them and go. They don’t seem to shut off and fully power down when I put them down upside down as stated in the instructions, so for a less frequent wearer, I find myself having to charge them a lot just for the occasional times I grab and go. I wish the Bluetooth would disconnect as well when they are not on, so the audio would by default go through my phone speaker again. Maybe I’m missing a configuration setting for this.I was impressed with the way it lets you indicate whether you want to hear notifications or not by sliding or tapping on the arm of the glasses to “answer” yes or no to different alerts. It is really intelligent in reading you more content of things than you would hear just connected to regular bluetooth like in the car, etc.I did find after activating these I am sometimes having issues with the Garmin Speak and Bluetooth in my car– sometimes I’m getting verbalized notifications there now that I don’t really want to announce to my whole car– so I guess what I’m saying is, if you have Echo/Alexa in other places, there can be some overlap. The frames don’t coordinate with your other Alexa devices to say: Ah! The glasses are on, so don’t respond everywhere else. I would like this as a feature in the future.Overall, these are useful, still somewhat experimental for me, but I’m still interested and wearing them and figuring out when to wear them.The audio quality is impressive and immersive. If you aren’t listening regularly and a video starts playing on the phone it can sometimes be surprising/shocking as it seems like someone is there who isn’t– it’s that real, the way the audio comes into your ears, yet it’s always easy to hear those around you, traffic, outside noises that you should hear.These do not feel like a beta product, it is version two, though I had never learned much about them personally until now. These are not just for geeks. They are a good augmentation and improvement to life in many ways, and I would encourage anyone who is slightly interested to try them out. I had my lenses put in them from the partnership with Boomerang Lenses, which is a company I had used many times before and was very familiar with. Their lens quality and support is BETTER than the best lenses I have had from any local eye doctor in my lifetime. I use the polycarbonate lenses that darken when you go outside. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you have them!
14 people found this helpful
Lauragray –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love these, but can’t wait for next gen improvements
So, I got these for $99 on prime day. I love them to pieces. They are perfect for my office environment where we technically aren’t supposed to wear headphones, but everyone does anyways. And I’ve yet to find earbuds that will stay in my ears. So I love the fact that these work for that purpose and are way more discreet. They looked very similar to my old glasses so most people don’t even notice a difference.I ordered prescription lenses from GlassesUSA online and they were shipped and easily popped out the old ones and inserted the new ones at home. I ordered the cheapest lenses possible and only paid $40 for the lenses. I have a very light prescription and don’t always need glasses anyways, so didn’t want to spend too much in case they didn’t work out.They hook up to my iPhone 12 very easily. I never have an issue with them connecting. I’m not an audiophile and generally keep the sound pretty low as background noise, so I can’t really address quality of the audio but I have no complaints. I wish it would have an even quieter setting between the quietest and off, sometime I have a hard time hearing people who are trying to talk quietly. Our cubicle setting is very quiet usually. The good thing is no-one has mentioned hearing anything, but they are good volume for me. My husband can hear “whispers” if I play in the car and our heads are a couple feet apart. But then its usually a bit louder than I use at office.Another great discovery I found was that the Alexa app has a built in kindle reader. I’ve started listening to all my books I already own on them. The voice is Alexa’s or similar, so somewhat robotic and sometimes gets the wrong version or pronunciation of words and you have to figure out what she means, but overall is a great feature. I just recently renewed my library card so I can start checking out regular audio books as well.My wishes for improvement at this point are:1. Alexa iOS app-is very buggy. I’m very disappointed in it so far. It has lots of capabilities, but doesn’t seem stable. When reading books, it will often go back and read a section over and over, with little I can do outside of going to Kindle app and resetting the position I want to start it from. The pandora skill also seems to have issues connecting. It thinks I’m driving and puts it in the auto mode when I’m not in a vehicle. And it often doesn’t recognize that my glasses are connected. I can choose use this device which the iPhone then sends it to the bluetooth speaker which is the glasses. But it won’t read battery % on the screen.2. Volume-Would like another notch or two between lowest volume and off.3. Plastic used- While what is used is fine, it doesn’t seem as hard of a plastic as my regular glasses. It kind of has a cheap look/feel to it comparatively. Not a big turn off, but would be nice improvement.4. Battery life-I wish they could make it a whole day of playing music in background. I get about 4 hours if I constantly play music. So around lunch time, I usually set them on a charger for 20-30 minutes if I can to get them mostly charged to make it through the rest of the day.5.Work with iOS focus-I have my phone set for a work focus mode that only allows certain calls and apps through. I don’t know if its the Alexa app or just any bluetooth device, but it will notify me of things I am trying to block out at work, like spam calls, excessive emails, etc. the Alexa app can narrow it down, but I wish it worked with what I already had setup instead of causing another place to set up preferences.
33 people found this helpful
Spindoc –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for listening to audiobooks.
Update 4/14/23Well… the popping and cracking (especially during music, which I only experienced during interludes in audiobooks) has gotten progressively worse. I finally bit the bullet and hit the return/replace button (which shows a return/replace period extending to 2024) only to be told that I’m passed the return/replace window…. Ok well there must be a warranty resolution… Hmmmmm don’t see that option. I’ll update as I see how that goes. I’ll have to chat or call I guess. Funny, you’d think that an online company would have an online option to at least get the ball rolling.I suspect, that the issue is an error in processing the audio, allowing the drivers to be over driven by the amplifier. An issue I figured, by now, to be addressed by a firmware update.The interface is still erratic and glitchy. The volume leveling is great until it isn’t, and it still starts up loudly only to level off during content. The battery life is mediocre, but as stated before… size matters, at least when it comes to batteries.Don’t get me wrong. I would hate to lose these frames. I still use my glasses on an almost daily basis, and am overall satisfied. But, I had hoped, that Amazon would have been keeping up with the reviews, address these issues and contact their customers who were actively having issues. This in an effort to get feedback back, and improve their products.I still can recommend these glasses for those who enjoy spoken voice like podcasts or audiobooks, with the issue I am speaking on in mind. Just know what your buying. Not for music unless at very low volumes.Update: still pleased over all. They have started popping/crackling noticeably when listening to certain narrators. Even at moderate to low volumes. I exclusively use these to listen to audiobooks/podcasts, and not music. I will be contacting customer support. I’ll let you know how that goes. The touch interface is still a bit clunky as is Alexa if you have echo speakers nearby. Still happy with my purchase. You are however better off going to LensCrafters for the lenses. Even with scratch protection these have proven to be sub standard compared to most other lenses I have had. Can’t ding the glasses for this though.I’ve been wearing these for a couple of months now. I’m pleased overall. Purchased June of 2022Pro’sThey are comfortable after proper adjustment.The sound is good for audiobooksThe Alexa integration is good although my other echo devices get confused when I am in range. They don’t works with Alexa unless the phone is unlockedThey look ok.Cons:They are a bit bulky but it is what it is.Putting lenses in them gets expensive. I recommend shopping around as it feels like the suggested online company dramatically overcharges. I should have checked with LensCrafters.The sound quality at upper volumes are a bit to much for the drivers it sounds forced and pops and cracks. For music the sound is muddled and flat with little bass response. Great for podcasts and audiobooks though.The battery life is ok at about 4 hrs of listening to audiobooks at moderate volume. Could be better but the rapid charging helps to make it less inconvenient. I just switch to a regular pair of glasses for a bit.The touch control is finicky not always responding as I’d like.I enjoy the ability to discreetly listen to a book while working, and still being able to be fully aware of my surroundings. If you understand the limitations I fully recommend these frames.
4 people found this helpful
Phyregiver –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Nice, but room for improvement Update: first two pairs stopped powering on
Update #3: After the last update, the Frames began to lose their charge pretty quickly, and a reset didn’t help. Then they stopped powering on at all. I talked to tech support, who at first told me to send the frames back first until I pointed out that they are my only glasses, which I couldn’t go without while waiting for replacement frames. They ended up sending the replacements first, but in my mind that should be the default policy. Also, I had to pay out of pocket to send the first pair of frames back. The replacement pair of Frames had issues from the start – taking a long time to connect to the phone, shutting down unexpectedly, and the battery draining even when not in use – and then they too stopped powering on. So I just got done with tech support and have another pair of Frames on the way, and this time at least got a pre-paid shipping label for the return. But I’m really starting to think the quality is not what I’ve come to expect from Echo devices.Update #2: Resetting the Frames resolved the issue with the Frames continuing to ring during calls.Update: one HUGE issue that has come up with the Echo Frames is in regards to the ringing for phone calls. After I answer a call, whether by answering on the phone or on the frames, it keeps ringing and does not stop until the call ends. My only options are to ignore the call and then call them back, answer the call and then tell them I’ll be calling them back since I can’t hear over the ring alert sound, turn off the Frames, or remove the Frames. This really needs to be addressed with a firmware update ASAP, and is serious enough that I’ve removed two stars in the meantime.I’ve been wearing them for about a month and a half now, and I do like them – but there’s definitely room for improvement for both the hardware and firmware for the glasses.Things I like:1) Not having earbuds in or headphones over my ears – I have small ear canals, so earbuds don’t want to stay in, and headphones make my ears hot and uncomfortable – so it’s nice having an option that doesn’t require either.2) I can still hear what is going on around me while listening to music or podcasts3) Some people complain about sound quality, but I think the sound quality is fine no matter what I am listening to.4) The alerts are handy, when they work rightThings to improve:1) Battery life – I’ve had wireless earbuds with a fraction of the room for batteries that lasted longer than these do.2) Bad charging design – I’ve tried charging them off of a battery pack while wearing them, but the charging spot is positioned so that it’s hard to not knock the cord loose when moving around. And it’s also pretty much impossible to charge it with the case closed, so instead of having them protected inside a case while charging I have to leave the case open while charging.3) No charging case – it’s just a hard case, that’s it. At least give us the option of an accessory case with both a cable and battery built in so it can be charged in the case with the case closed. Even better, add the capability to do Qi charging and make the case a Qi charger.4) Lack of controls on the glasses. We get one single button, two rocker buttons, and one touch-sensitive strip. So we can turn the glasses on or off (single button), turn both mic & alerts (but not mic OR alerts) on or off (single button), adjust volume (rockers), pause and unpause (touch strip), and accept or deny alerts (touch strip) – but I can’t go forward or backwards in songs, podcasts, etc.5) Touch strip sensitivity is abysmal. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’m tapping over and over in frustration trying to pause what I’m listening to in order to have a conversation, or trying to get it to pick up a call.6) If I answer calls from my phone because the touch strip isn’t responding, it keeps ringing throughout the call – so I have to end the call and call the person back to get it to stop.7) It has gotten stuck in loops where it keeps giving me the same alert (for example, Outlook) over and over again until I go in and block the app with the VIP filter. So I have sources I would like to get alerted on blocked simply because Alexa kept repeating the alert for that app over & over.8) Getting lenses – my optometrist’s lab didn’t feel comfortable putting lenses in, so I had to order from the site amazon recommended, and it wasn’t a great experience. I understand that they are a separate company, but if Amazon is going to send its customers somewhere for lenses they should do a better job vetting them. Ordering process was not straightforward, options I ordered for my lenses didn’t show on my order when I looked it up, I paid for expedited shipping and they used a service that passes the packages on to USPS with no tracking. I was not impressed.
2 people found this helpful
Greg SmithGreg Smith –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Serviceable Prototype
The Echo Frames (Gen 2) seem like a prototype for a better, future device. Low battery life might be fixed if you could ‘turn off’ one speaker at a time.Pros:* can use prescription lenses* good sound quality* always available on-face* LED status light* laid upside-down = standby mode* good interface to Alexa* priced right at $159 discountCons:* 5-hour battery life is too short* Elvis Costello wannabe fashion* cheap-feeling plastic* custom charging cable* Frames confuse other nearby Echo devices* Mic as iPhone input seems to be very low quality* Were not custom-fit to my face when fitted w/ prescription lenses* right-side controls are confusing* “% power remaining” countdown is intrusive* status LED indicator is confusing* bluetooth syncing is challenging, switching to apple watch is nearly impossible* requires Alexa app on iPhone* Other nearby Echo devices get confused* too expensive at $250PROS:——-The advantage over similar products (like the RayBan Stories frames) is Echo Frames can be fitted with prescription lenses. RayBan Stories also has cameras that can take videos or pictures for upload to Facebook – which was not a “feature” I wanted.The sound quality was surprisingly good (albeit tinny). And the major advantage was they are always on my face (as opposed to my Apple AirPods, which I can never find, dangle precariously from my ears, are not hygenic, and are not easy to keep on my person).The LED in the upper right corner is an unobtrusive system status indicator. When you lay the frames upside-down on the table, a red LED turns on to let you know they are in standby mode.CONS:——–On the downside, the 5-hour battery life means they only perform their function for half the day.Then they turn into mere Elvis-Costello-wannabes (I feel I look ridiculous in them, but my millenial daughter assures me otherwise). I find the plastic feels cheap and flimsy.The custom charging cable means I have to return home to charge them.The microphone seems to interface well with Alexa (although my other Echo devices get confused as to whom I’m talking). When I use it for voice-to-text on my iPhone, the accuracy goes down to about 30%. Also, when conversing using the phone app, folks have trouble hearing me. Wind noise seems to turn the mic off.It’s hard to sync the bluetooth to my iPhone and very hard to resync with some other device (like my Apple Watch). I originally bought Echo Frames to sync to my watch (as I have it on my wrist all the time, but my phone gets left on my desk). But most features requires the Alexa app on the iPhone making the functionality on Apple Watch mere headphones.While I had them fitted with prescription lenses, the ear ‘hooks’ were not fitted to my head so the glasses constantly slip down my face.The controls on the right side are confusing. I can never remember what ‘slide forward/backwards” does, whether to click, double-click, or long-press the ‘action’ button and what that does. And ‘tap’ on the side means ‘stop’ and double-tap means ‘play’ (I feel like it should be opposite).For phone calls, ‘tap’ on the side means ‘decline’ when someone calls – which to me should mean ‘accept.’ I’m constantly hanging up on folks. And I never know who is calling before I accept or decline (which causes me to use my Apple Watch to screen calls). A caller-id alert would be welcome (“Incoming call from Joe Jones. Tap to accept, double-tap to decline”).The frames alert me to ‘xxx power left’ on a 10% countdown, which is annoying as it interrupts my listening pleasure.The status indicator light is useful, but shows blue, red, or cyan with no clear mnemonic to indicate what these colors mean.CONCLUSIONS:——————Overall, the glasses are serviceable but don’t feel like a final product. I got them on a discount for $159, which is an appropriate price for what I got. But the ‘normal’ price of $250 seems too high for glasses that are simply 5-hour EarBuds.
7 people found this helpful
C –
4.0 out of 5 stars
I like them, but might not be worth it for many people…
These Gen 2 Echo Frames are a slight upgrade from the Gen 1 version; with two new colors, slightly better sound quality, and longer battery life.Here are my thoughts so far:PROS:-Hands-free Alexa: Having Alexa on your face is pretty nice. I really like taking calls or listening to text messages on the Frames, and call quality is very good. Everyone seems to be able to hear me clearly. I prefer these Frames over earbuds for hands-free calls, partly because wearing these doesn’t affect your ability to hear things going on around you. I always feel like my hearing is impaired slightly when I’m walking around with earbuds in, but these make it feel like I can still hear everything else well too. I also have enjoyed using these to access shopping lists, just to make having to shop in stores slightly easier.-Easy Setup: Setup is super easy. Just open the Alexa app on your phone, follow the instructions and you’re up and running in less than a minute.-Stylish: I personally like the way that these frames look; but of course that is personal opinion. It is nice that there are now three different color options, so there is a decent chance that at least one of them will work for you.-Battery life: These seem much batter than the Gen 1 versions so far. It seems like they have enough battery power to easily last through the day, and I recharge them at night while I sleep.CONS:– Music Listening: While the speakers are great for phone conversations, or hearing messages from Alexa, they are FAR inferior to most earbuds for listening to music. The nature of this type of speaker setup doesn’t really lend itself to producing booming bass or crisp mid-range sound. It might be adequate for elevator music; but if you are used to quality headphones or earbuds, these are not great in comparison.-Cost: At $250 currently, these seem like they are a bit overpriced for what they offer. Having Alexa access on your head is nice; but various earbuds including the Echo Buds offer that functionality as well, often with MUCH better sound quality for music listening, and longer battery life. I personally like these Echo Frames, but it would be hard for me imagine them being the best option for most people.OVERALL:Based on the current price, it seems like these will only be worthwhile to pretty small number of people. You have to remember that if you need prescription lenses, you are looking at an additional cost to get your lenses put in at Lens Crafters or another store. If you were thinking about getting some new glasses anyway, and you would find the hands-free Alexa access and calling/texting very useful, then these might be perfect for you. For many people though, I feel like any Alexa-enabled earbuds might be a better option currently, especially if you enjoy listening to music.(I will try to update this review after using these for a few more months if I have any additional thoughts)
602 people found this helpful