Amazon has a product launch scheduled for later this week on Thursday, and alongside a bunch of updated Echo speakers, recent leaks claim Amazon’s next big tech push could come in the form of Alexa-powered wireless earbuds.
Based on info from a source who spoke to CNBC, the rumoured earbuds are codenamed “Puget” and are designed to make Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant easier to use while on the go, while also doubling as a health and fitness device capable of tracking metrics like calories burned, distance travelled, and running speed.
While it’s currently unclear when Puget might become available for sale, CNBC’s source claims that for Puget, Amazon is looking to undercut competitors like Apple’s AirPods and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds by pricing its upcoming wireless earbuds at under $150.
The release of Alexa-powered earbuds is a significant development for Amazon, as Puget would not only be the first pair of homegrown wireless headphones with native Alexa integration, it would also help transition Amazon into being a bigger player and the health and fitness market, which up until now, has been the dominated by companies like Fitbit, Apple, Jabra and others.
Amazon’s new earbuds would also help position the company better against Google, as most Alexa searches tend to take place at home, while users turn to things like the Google Assistant and Siri for mobile voice searches.
Aside from Puget, Amazon’s upcoming product launch is also rumoured to include a new high-end Echo speaker with a built-in woofer and more powerful speakers designed to compete with gadgets like the Bloomberg, we might even see an Alexa-powered robovac too.
That said, based on last year’s event which included the release of microwave with Alexa built-in, an Alexa-powered wall clock, and a buttload of other Alexa-based devices, there’s no telling what sort of new Alexa gadgets Amazon might have in store for 2019.