Amazon Reportedly Entering Wearables Market with Alexa-Powered Glasses

Amazon wants to try and put something intelligent between your ears.

The e-commerce behemoth is working on its first ever wearable device, smart glasses designed just like a regular pair of reading glasses, according to a report from the Financial Times.

These wearables will do more than just help you read at night though, as they are reported to allow Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa to be summoned anytime and anywhere.

One of the more interesting details in the report discusses how a wearer will be able to hear Alexa. There are no headphones or tethered phone connections required, but rather bone-conduction audio is used. The rather-creepy sounding system allows for the conduction of sound to your inner ear through bones in the skull. One of the better aspects of this method is that users with impaired hearing can sometimes get better sound quality.

With this announcement, users could take advantage of an Alexa wearable to do anything from change songs to control smart devices in their home while they are away from the house. There is bound to be more features unveiled as Amazon shares more details.

Last month, Amazon announced a partnership with Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana, allowing the two the ability to work tandem and control products within the other company’s sphere. Alexa can control things like Microsoft Office and Cortana can shop and manage orders through Amazon.

There is no word on if this partnership will come to the wearable, but it is likely. According to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s positive comments about working with other virtual assistants, you could even one day have access to Alexa, Cortana, Google Home and Apple’s Siri all from the tip of your nose, so to speak.

Wearables in the form of glasses have been a bit of a tough sell for normal consumers. Google’s Glass did not sit well with reviewers after its initial launch, and just earlier this year came back in the form of an enterprise-aiding piece of technology. The newer Google Glass comes in at about $1,829 USD, and Amazon will have to look for a much lower price point (along with a sleeker design) if it wants to reach the general public