Amazon's Bee launches two AI wearable devices starting at $74.99

Amazon's Bee just launched two new personal AI devices starting at $74.99 — its first hardware release since Amazon acquired the wearable maker last year. The company on Thursday introduced the Bee Frontier, a next-generation wearable for the wrist or lapel, and the Bee Eclipse, a credit-card-sized device that magnetically sticks to the back of a smartphone.

The pricing puts Bee in direct competition with the Plaud Note and Pocket, and well under them. The Bee Frontier costs $74.99, against $159 for the Plaud Note, $189 for the Note Pro, and $129 for the Pocket AI device. The Bee Eclipse costs $99.99.

The Frontier ships in Onyx, Lavender, and Sage. The Eclipse comes in Silver, Midnight, Honey, and Blush.

What do the devices actually do?

Like the original Bee, both devices use AI to take notes from everyday conversations and turn them into to-dos, summaries, and insights. If you agreed on dinner plans with friends, Bee remembers the date and time and creates a calendar invite. Students can use it for lecture notes; patients can capture a doctor's care plan.

All Bee devices create conversation summaries and recaps for free, with 14 days of memory. A $11.99-per-month Bee Pro subscription adds:

• Unlimited conversation summaries
• Integrations with Amazon.com, Alexa+, and third-party applications
• Suggested to-dos and daily memories
• A personal chat assistant and conversation templates

The new Amazon connections mean users can buy products from Amazon or ask Alexa for their Bee insights, summaries, or to-dos hands-free.

Bee also plugs into Gmail, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook — it can draft emails, set up meetings, and surface action items. Users can upload photos or connect Apple's HealthKit to fold wellness data into their insights.

How does Bee handle privacy?

Bee devices use a private computing security architecture that doesn't store raw audio from conversations. Audio is processed in real time and then deleted. Transcripts are encrypted with keys the device itself creates and controls, so no one else — including Amazon employees — can access the files unless the user manually shares them.

Users can optionally connect Bee to Alexa, letting an Echo device use Voice ID to recognize when they're speaking and record conversations for Bee's insights. Amazon notes this feature is optional and that users can delete transcripts and summaries at any time.

What are the hardware specs?

Both devices carry a single power button and an indicator light that shows when the device is summarizing a conversation. The Frontier adds:

• IP67 water resistance
• Up to seven days of battery life
• USB-C charging
• Dual microphones with advanced noise filtering

Every Bee device ships with a companion mobile app, newly redesigned, plus a new desktop app.

The Bee Frontier is available now on Amazon. The Eclipse follows soon after. With sub-$100 pricing and native Alexa integration, Bee gives Amazon a low-cost foothold in the AI note-taking hardware market that Plaud has so far led on price.

By Amara Osei