Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) With Enhanced ANC, Smaller Design Launched

Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones have been launched in the US. Amazon says that the second-generation Echo Buds are 20 percent smaller than the original ones, and feature a new design and custom-designed active noise cancellation (ANC). Amazon is also giving customers the option to choose between different types of cases. Amazon says the new TWS earphones can be used with Amazon Alexa, as well as Siri and Google Assistant.

Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) TWS earphones price, availability

The Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) with a USB Type-C wired charging case are priced at $119.99 (roughly Rs. 9,000), and the model with a wireless charging case can be purchased for $139.99 (roughly Rs. 10,500) on the Amazon US website. Amazon says the wired charging option will be available for $99.99 (roughly Rs. 7,500) and the wireless charging option will be available for $119.99 (roughly Rs. 9,000) for a limited time.

The Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) will be available for pre-order and will begin shipping to customers in May. The new TWS earbuds were temporarily out of stock on the Amazon website at the time of writing this article. Customers have an option to choose between Black and Glacier White colours. Amazon is also offering six months of Amazon Music Unlimited and Audible Plus for free to customers who qualify. “To qualify, customers must be free trial eligible for Amazon Music Unlimited and/ or Audible,” Amazon says.

Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) TWS earphones specifications

Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) TWS earphones are said to feature a new design. The company says the new earbuds are 20 percent smaller than the previous generation model. The Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) feature a vented design to reduce in-ear pressure and narrower nozzles for a better fit. They come with four sizes of ear tips and two sizes of wing tips. Each earbud is fitted with a 5.7mm dynamic driver to offer “balanced sound with extended dynamic range”. Amazon says that the speakers are optimised for increased fidelity in bass and treble.

Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) TWS earphones feature Amazon's custom ANC technology that is claimed to cancel twice as much noise compared to the first generation. The company says that this technology “uses the inner and outer microphones to intelligently estimate sound pressure in the eardrum to generate the inverse of that signal and cancel out unwanted noise”. The ANC feature can be turned on by simply saying, “Alexa, turn on noise cancellation”. Alexa voice control is supported on Android 6.0 and iOS 12 or higher. The earbuds also have a Passthrough Mode to listen to the ambient sound. The amount of outside sound you want to hear can be adjusted in the Alexa app.

The Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) TWS earphones allow users to listen to Audible audiobook, find artists on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and more, as well as listen to podcasts with voice. The earphones are said to be built with multiple layers of privacy protections and controls. The earbuds are IPX4 rated for sweat resistance. And each earbud features three microphones.

In terms of battery, the earbuds alone are claimed to offer up to 5 hours of music playback on a single charge with ANC and Hands-Free Alexa on, and up to 6.5 hours of music playback with ANC and Hands-Free Alexa off. The Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) TWS earphones are said to offer a total of up to 15 hours of playtime with the battery of the charging case included and ANC on, and about 19.5 hours total with the charging case battery included and ANC off. Amazon says that the earbuds can offer up to 2 hours of music playback with a 15-minute quick charge. The TWS earbuds support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.

The earbuds weigh 5.7 grams each (without ear tip or wing tip) and the charging case weighs 44.4 grams.

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