Amazon has unveiled a drop-stem design for its all-new Echo Buds released today (May 17, 2023). The price has been slashed to just $49 too, and brings hands-free access to Alexa in a lightweight and compact design for considerably less than its predecessors.
Given the financial squeeze many of us are experiencing on our household bills right now, it's refreshing to see some tech getting more affordable. The original active noise-cancelling Echo Buds launched at $129, while the Echo Buds 2 followed at $99; although it's important to point out that the new $49 Echo Buds don't have noise cancelling support like their predecessors.
Nevertheless, they're a welcome addition and one we didn't see coming from the e-commerce and electronics giant. Generous discount aside, these buds look like making a strong case for being one of the market’s best cheap wireless earbuds.
Although I've yet to try them out, the semi-in-ear design is said to deliver rich audio thanks to the 12mm dynamic drivers in each earbud, and the sound from the new Echo Buds is described as rich with balanced bass.
Much like their predecessors, the new Echo Buds include customizable tap controls for playback navigation, but there's no mention of on-ear detection to automatically pause playback when one or both earbuds are removed from the ear.
Call handling is taken care of via two microphones, and a voice detection accelerometer distinguishes between the person speaking on a call versus others around to help improve call quality. Multipoint pairing is also onboard to pair and switch audio between two devices simultaneously.
From the images I've seen, the new charging case looks to be square and appears to have similar proportions to the charging case for Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.
Battery life from the earbuds is said to be capable of delivering up to 5 hours of music playback and access to Alexa on a single charge. While not the strongest we've seen, it's competitive with price rivals, and users can get up to 3 additional charges for up to 20 total hours of total listening time from a fully charged case.
Once again, the Amazon Echo Buds are on sale now priced at $49 direct from the retailer. They're available in black for the buds while the charging case is finished in white. There's currently no information regarding alternative color options, and prices for the U.K. and Australia are yet to be confirmed.
Look out for my full Amazon Echo Buds review coming soon.
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