Amazon makes fresh attempt to claim wearable AI market share with $50 device

Amazon is pushing forward with plans to improve a small wearable gadget it picked up months ago, signaling the tech giant hasn’t given up on voice-activated devices despite past setbacks in the category.

The device in question comes from Bee, a startup Amazon acquired that makes a $50 gadget users can attach to their clothing or wear around their wrist. The small piece of hardware continuously listens to what’s happening around the owner, writing down conversations and automatically building task lists through a phone app.

Struggles with the wearable AI market

The timing comes as other companies have struggled to convince customers that AI-powered gadgets are worth buying. Products like the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 haven’t caught on with shoppers, facing criticism for software problems, batteries that die too quickly, and failing to offer anything better than what a phone already does.

Amazon itself has had mixed results selling wearable technology. The company shut down its Halo fitness band in 2023 after the product failed to gain traction. Amazon also hasn’t put out new wireless earbuds in nearly three years. Some technology from the Halo, including tools that could pick up on how someone was feeling based on their voice, has found its way into Bee.

Bee is taking a different approach than those earlier products. Instead of requiring users to push buttons or give commands, the device works as an automatic diary that captures everything on its own. Other small companies, including Plaud, have released similar products.

The idea of Amazon owning a device that’s always listening has raised concerns among some people about privacy. Bee addressed those worries directly after announcing the deal with Amazon.

“We have never stored audio recordings, and this hasn’t changed,” the company posted on its website. The device processes all sound immediately and deletes it after converting conversations to text, with nothing saved anywhere, the company explained.

One feature lets users record quick thoughts by pressing a button to capture voice notes. Another tool called daily insights watches for patterns in emotions and changes in personal relationships, according to a company blog post from Monday.

Co-founder Maria de Lourdes Zollo and her team are also working to make the device do more without being asked. A recent addition called “actions” connects the device to email and calendar programs, allowing Bee to write emails or schedule meetings automatically.

“So directly from the app, you can connect with your Gmail and your calendar and directly from there, we can take actions on your behalf, and basically follow up the conversations,” Zollo explained during an interview at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas this week.

Bigger changes on the horizon

When asked about recent news stories describing how some customers have developed unusually strong emotional connections to AI programs, Daniel Rausch, who runs Amazon’s Alexa and Echo divisions as a vice president, stressed the company takes its duties to users seriously.

“We’ve had a responsible AI team, a trust and privacy team for the entire decade that we’ve been doing this,” he said. “I think some of these topics are newer to others, but frankly people have been forming close bonds, sharing details, communicating things to Alexa, looking for support from Alexa, looking for humor from Alexa for literally as long as it’s been out.”

Rausch said the growing interest in AI that can hold conversations made this the right moment to try again with wearable devices.

Unlike the AI Pin and several new products shown at CES this week, Bee doesn’t include a camera to see and understand what’s around the user. Zollo said the startup initially tested versions with cameras.

“When we started Bee, our first prototype was actually with vision, with a camera, but as a startup, it was too expensive,” Zollo said. “In the future, I believe there will be an opportunity for other devices that have a camera on them.”

Zollo doesn’t think one single wearable will dominate the market. Like others working on similar products, she believes people will use multiple devices.

Making products that fit different personal styles will determine which devices people actually use every day, she said.

“I believe that there will an escalation of accessories that we have Bee on,” Zollo said. “We want to be with you, and we understand you have your own sense of fashion, so we want to understand what is good for you.”

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