Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo Buds earphones have a hidden fitness tracking feature that could let you record your workouts in the future, software reveals
- Amazon’s new Alexa Echo Buds earphones may be able to track your workout
- The Echo Buds are voice activated, allowing users to execute several commands
- Echo earbuds are priced at £119 ($129.99) and act as direct competitor to Apple
Amazon’s new Alexa Echo Buds earphones, released yesterday in the U.S., may be hiding a ‘track workout’ function that could be announced soon.
The Echo earbuds are priced at £119 ($129.99) and act as a direct competitor to other popular products like Apple’s AirPods which cost £249 ($249) for a pair with comparable noise cancelling technology.
Among notable features, including integration with Alexa Amazon’s voice assistant, tech enthusiasts now believe the buds have the capability to track fitness workouts.
This may set them apart from competitors as one of the first to build the tracking technology into earbuds.
The Echo Buds are voice activated, allowing users to execute several commands.
The Echo earbuds (pictured) are priced at £119 ($129.99) and act as a direct competitor to other popular products like Apple’s AirPods which cost £249 ($249)
Essentially anything that one can do with Amazon’s Echo smart speaker can be done with the earbuds, including playing music, checking the weather, and more.
They are yet to be released in the UK Amazon store and do not have a UK release date, but are displayed on the website with the notice ‘coming soon’.
Although reports from CNBC have suggested that an update named ‘Puget’ may contain the health and fitness tracker in the coming months, Amazon are yet to confirm its existence.
Fitbit was last week purchased by Google for a whopping $2.1 billion
A track workout function was discovered on a test unit of the Echo Buds paired with the Amazon Alexa App by testers at CNBC who believe the feature may be in a development phase.
MailOnline has contacted Amazon for comment.
Amazon has not yet entered the fitness monitoring sphere, dominated by Apple watch and Fitbit, but has a team dedicated to health and wellness working within Alexa.
CNBC claimed the device encouraged them to start tracking a workout by saying the words ‘Alexa, start a workout’.
A big selling point for the Echo Buds is undoubtedly the headphones’ noise-reduction feature which uses algorithms developed by Bose to block external sound.
To activate the feature, the buds can be double-tapped and again to turn the feature off.
This technology will also help the device understand a user’s command amid any ambient noise that may be happening in one’s environment.
Apple has unveiled its highly-anticipated AirPods Pro earbuds that feature Noise Cancellation and immersive sound functionality
‘Each earbud has two outer microphones and one inner microphone that work together to reduce ambient noise so Alexa can hear you whether you’re walking to class, on your lunch break, or commuting home on the train,’ said the company in a release.
‘All you have to do is ask to hear your favorite playlist, find the nearest coffee shop, or order an.’
Amazon says the buds boast a five-hour battery life and charge via a mini-USB. That life can be extended to 20 hours with an included case – one that is notably larger than a container that comes with Apple’s AirPods.
As noted by The Verge’s Dieter Bohn, the use of micro-USB instead of USB-C could eventually become a problem for first-generation buds if the connection continues to phase out.
