Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is reportedly building Alexa powered “smart glasses”. Per a Financial Times report, the device would be able to call upon Alexa any time, any place. A “bone-conduction audio system” will eliminate the need for headphones while using Alexa.
The device can connect wirelessly to a smartphone. Though the function of glasses is not yet clear, these will probably display results of queries associated with the field of view asked via Alexa. AMZN is also said to be working on a new home security camera system.
The report also mentioned that Amazon has given its secretive Lab 126 product development team the task to come up with ideas on other similar devices that have potential.
If the news is true, it would be the tech giant’s first wearable device. Notably, Amazon patented an idea for smart glasses back in 2015. A wider rollout is expected by the end of this year.
A Bold Move Given the History of Failures
While Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) have faced difficulties in commercializing their wearables, Snap Inc’s (NYSE:SNAP) smart glasses experiment is still at a nascent stage. In fact, Amazon, itself has failed with the Fire phone.
That being said, it would be interesting to see how the competitive atmosphere builds up after the speculated product launch and if Amazon could come up with something that would give it a leg up on competitors.
Wrapping Up
The success of Alexa powered devices has converted the nascent smart home market into a potential area of growth in a very short time. Echo devices are going great guns and helping the company sell products and services.
The company is racing to build an ecosystem around Alexa. So, if the news is true, the new move would be just another effort in that regard.
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