Amazon announces new Bee wearables and a $11.99 monthly plan

In short: Amazon is releasing an updated Bee listening wearable and teasing a second model, and it is adding a paid subscription that unlocks more features.

What happened

Amazon bought Bee last year, a small company known for a $50 device that listens to conversations and turns them into summaries. Amazon has now announced two new Bee devices and a new paid plan.

The first device is the Bee Frontier, priced at $74.99 and available now. It can be worn like a wrist band or used as a clip-on pin. Amazon says it has two microphones, a recording light, about seven days of battery life, and an IP67 rating (meaning it is sealed against dust and can handle being in water briefly).

The second device is the Bee Eclipse, priced at $99.99 and “coming soon.” It is a flat, credit card shaped gadget that snaps onto the back of a smartphone with magnets. Amazon says it is aimed more at professional use and should last about 21 days per charge.

Amazon is also introducing Bee Pro for $11.99 per month. The free plan includes conversation summaries and 14 days of “memory,” meaning how far back the device can refer to past notes. The paid plan adds more features, including third-party app connections and compatibility with Amazon and Alexa Plus.

If users opt in to the Amazon integration, Bee can show shopping reminders based on what it heard. For example, if someone mentions buying cat litter, you might later see a related prompt on Amazon.

Why it matters

These devices are designed to act like a personal note taker that follows you around (like having someone in the room writing down highlights). That can be convenient, but it also raises privacy questions, since it involves a gadget listening to everyday conversations.

Source: The Verge AI