Amazon today launched two new Bee personal AI devices: Bee Frontier wearable device and Bee Eclipse phone accessory. These devices are designed to listen to users' conversations and convert them into summaries, to-do lists, reminders, and insights, which are displayed in the Bee app. Users can wear the Frontier on a soft silicone wristband or clip it to their clothing, with color options including lavender, sage, and onyx. The device features dual microphones with noise filtering, an IP67 waterproof rating, a battery life of up to seven days, and supports USB-C charging.
The current price is US$74.99 (approximately HK$585).
The Eclipse is approximately the size of a credit card, with a thickness of 4.6 millimeters and a weight of 48.9 grams, and can be magnetically attached to the back of a phone. Amazon estimates its battery life to exceed 21 days, using four MEMS microphones and one vibration microphone, allowing it to capture audio from both phone calls and face-to-face conversations simultaneously. The Eclipse is priced at US$99.99 (approximately HK$780), available in silver, midnight, honey, and blush colors, and will be available for purchase soon. Both devices share the same software concept, generating conversation summaries when activated, which users can view in the mobile app or the newly launched desktop app, along with templates for topics like lectures or brainstorming sessions.
Amazon Bee devices offer intelligent summaries and privacy protection features
Through the Bee Pro subscription service (US$11.99 per month or US$99 per year, with the first 30 days free), users can also connect to Gmail, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Apple HealthKit, and photos, and can request hands-free summaries from Alexa+, receiving Amazon shopping suggestions based on mentioned items. Naturally, the ability of these wearable devices or phone accessories to listen to users' conversations raises privacy concerns, and Amazon acknowledges the need to address these issues responsibly.
The company stated that both devices operate on the Bee Private Compute system, where audio is processed in real-time and deleted immediately, with no storage. Transcribed text is encrypted, and only the user's device can create and control the decryption keys; Amazon claims that even they cannot access user data unless the user chooses to share it.
Users can turn each device on or off with a button, which also displays a status LED light. Users can set the Frontier to automatically turn off after a period of silence and can delete transcribed text and summaries at any time. A clear concern is that when these devices are on, they will capture surrounding conversations. Amazon's own Eclipse listing notes that consent laws vary by state and country in the U.S., and users need to inform others and obtain permission; Bee will not handle this issue for users.
Item Specifications Battery Life Frontier: 7 days; Eclipse: over 21 days Weight Eclipse: 48.9 grams Thickness Eclipse: 4.6 millimeters