- Amazon’s Echo Loop is a smart ring with a button for summoning Alexa.
- It’s one of three new Alexa-enabled wearables the company announced on Wednesday, along with the Echo Buds wireless earbuds and the Echo Frames smart glasses.
- The ring can also buzz to indicate when you have a new smartphone notification.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The Amazon Echo is one of the most popular connected-home products, but the company is making a big effort to expand its Echo gadgets beyond our households.
During an event on Wednesday, Amazon unleashed a slew of new Alexa and Echo products – and among the most unexpected was a smart ring that can be used to access Alexa.
The Echo Loop smart ring is part of Amazon’s “Day 1” program, meaning it will be available in limited quantities and on an invitation-only basis. During the invitation period, the Echo Loop will be priced at $130.
It's one of two Day 1 products Amazon announced during its big event. The other was a pair of Alexa-enabled smart glasses called Echo Frames.
I tried the Echo Loop for a few minutes - here's a brief look at what it was like to use it.
The Echo Loop has a small button on its underside that can be used to trigger Alexa.
At first glance, Amazon's Echo Loop looks almost like a normal titanium ring, albeit bigger and bulkier. But when you look at the ring's underside, you'll notice a tiny button for triggering Alexa.
After you ask Alexa a question or issue a request, you must hold the ring near your ear to hear its response. This is possible thanks to the ring's tiny speaker and two microphones.
During my time using the Echo Loop, I pressed the button and spoke into the ring to set a reminder and ask for the weather. It was a bit difficult to hear Alexa's response in such a crowded room, but Amazon's digital helper seemed to respond just as quickly as it would if it were used through any other Echo device. Users can control the volume of the voice in the Alexa smartphone app.
Making phone calls through Amazon's smart ring is certainly possible, though I wouldn't recommend doing so for any conversation that takes longer than a few seconds. Because you have to move your hand close to your mouth to speak and then hold it near your ear to listen, I imagine that making phone calls through the Loop would be uncomfortable.
If you want to do that, you can designate a contact to call whenever you double-press the action button.
You can also press and hold the button to access whichever virtual helper you normally use on your phone - Siri, or the Google Assistant.
But it seems most useful for notifications.
Speaking into ring seems awkward and sounds like something out of a spy film. But I could imagine the Echo Loop being more useful for notifications - similar to Ringly, which, as its name implies, is a ring that lights up and vibrates when you get a smartphone notification.
When you get a notification, the Echo Loop also emits a haptic sensation, which may differ depending on the notification. You can also set location-based reminders for the Echo Loop so, for example, it will vibrate to remind you to pick up groceries when you get off the train on the way home from work.
You'll have four sizes to choose from, but just one color.
The Echo Loop is available in just one color, a black titanium finish, and comes in small, medium, large, and extra-large. The version I tried was a larger model that was too big to fit comfortably on any of my fingers, but I imagine the small size would be closer to my usual ring size.
Amazon also says the ring is scratch- and water-resistant, meaning you'll be able to wash your hands while wearing it without worrying.
It should last all day on a single charge and comes with a charging case that replenishes its battery in 90 minutes, Amazon says.
It feels as if the Echo Loop could be setting the stage for something bigger.
Amazon isn't the first company to release a high-tech ring that can alert you when smartphone notifications come in. But such products haven't really resonated with the public beyond the early-adopter crowd.
The Echo Loop feels like a testbed for Amazon to learn what customers want out of an Alexa-enabled wearable. That's likely why Amazon is releasing it as part of its Day 1 program, unlike the Echo Buds - the success of products like Apple's AirPods has already proved there's customer demand for wireless earbuds.
I can imagine the Echo Loop serving as a predecessor for a more sophisticated product down the line, particularly because it's unclear whether people are truly interested in a ring tethered to their smartphone.
But then again, no one could have predicted that the original Echo from 2014 would have been a hit either.