Amazon’s first attempt to launch a smartphone wasn’t exactly a huge success, but the company took an early lead in the voice assistant space with its surprisingly popular Alexa-enabled line of devices including smart speakers, smart displays, and third-party devices including headphones and speakers.
Now Bloomberg reports Amazon is hoping to launch a new Alexa product that you can use with your existing mobile device.
Amazon is said to be developing a set of Apple AirPod-like truly wireless earbuds that you can pair with an iPhone or Android device to listen to music, movies, podcasts, or other content on the go. And of course they’ll support Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant as well.
The earbuds are said to be completely wireless, which means you’ll be able to put one in your right ear, the other in your left, and then there’s no physical wire connecting the earbuds to one another (or to your phone).
You’ll be able to use taps or other gestures to answer phone calls or switch music tracks, and you’ll be able to talk to Alexa to get answers to questions, play music, or… you know, order stuff from Amazon.
The earbuds will also come with a charging case so that you can top off the battery on the go without plugging anything into a wall jack.
Pricing details haven’t been revealed yet, but Amazon has a habit of undercutting its competitors on pricing — the lowest-priced Amazon Fire tablet costs $50, while the cheapest Apple iPad sells for $329.
It’s also possible that Amazon’s earbuds may never see the light of day — Bloomberg and other news organizations do have a habit of reporting on Amazon products that are said to be under development, only to have those devices canceled before release.
But a set of Alexa-enabled earbuds certainly seems like a safer bet for Amazon than trying to launch another phone in light of just how poorly received the company’s ill-fated Fire Phone was.
Then again, if you really want Alexa in your ears, you could just buy a third-party set of earbuds… probably for a lot less money. For example, Amazon ic currently selling a pair of SoundPEATS earbuds with Alexa support for just $27.
Let’s walk around with our own personal bugging device.
Will they be branded as “Amazon Basics”?
No, NSA basics
Bragi just sold their hardware business so who knows.