Amazon wants Alexa everywhere, and it’s willing to literally put her on your face and hand to prove it.
Today during an event in Seattle, Amazon unveiled the new Echo Loop, a $129.99 ring that you put on your finger that lets you talk to Alexa. We’ve seen smart rings before, but never from a large company like Amazon.
With the Echo Loop, the objective is simple: Amazon wants you to have Alexa available at the lift of your hand. With the Loop, that’s possible. The ring comes with a black titanium finish, two microphones, and the smallest speaker ever in an Echo device. It also comes with a haptic motor that buzzes to alert you of a notification or to confirm an action took plae, such as an Alexa trigger.
The ring syncs to your iOS or Android phone through the Alexa app and uses Bluetooth to grab a data connection. After it’s set up, you can use the ring to ask questions just like you would on any other Echo device. Like I said, it’s Alexa on your hand. Not much is different besides the form factor.
Interestingly, there’s a button on the ring that can perform a number of actions, including triggering your phone’s native voice assistant by pressing and holding for one second. That means the ring works with both Siri and Google Assistant alongside Alexa. That’s pretty cool.
According to Amazon, the Echo Loop will last an entire day on a full charge. It can be recharged using a special docking station (that’s powered over microUSB, mind you) which can fill your ring back up to 100 percent from zero in 90 minutes.
The Echo Loop is a part of Amazon’s Day 1 Edition program, meaning limited quantities of the ring will be produced and you’ll need an invite to buy one. If you do get an invitation, it’ll cost you $129.99. A free size kit is available if you wanna see how the S, M, L, and XL models fit.
