Amazon Echo Frames (3rd Gen) | Smart glasses with Alexa | Cat Eye frames in Brown Tortoise with gradient sunglass lenses

The best smart glasses
I love my Alexa Frames! These smart glasses have become an essential part of my daily routine. One of my favorite features is being able to listen to music while walking on the beach without worrying about an earbud falling out—it’s such a freeing experience. The sound quality is impressive, and the open-ear design lets me stay aware of my surroundings.Taking calls and asking Alexa questions is incredibly easy with the built-in microphones and speakers. The hands-free experience is convenient, and Alexa responds quickly to my commands.Setup was simple and quick, which I appreciated. The frames paired seamlessly with my phone, and I was up and running in no time. Overall, the Echo Frames are a fantastic blend of style and functionality, making them a perfect companion for anyone who wants smart, voice-controlled assistance on the go.

One step forward, many steps back…
First off: I purchased the Echo Frames Gen 2 when they were first released. Most of the following is done in comparison to that version.= Multiple Device Support =======================One feature missing from Gen 2 (that these have) is support for dual devices. This is the ONE thing about Gen 3 that is preferred over Gen 2.= Audio ====================================The new frames do sound better, however there are some serious trade offs that come with this…First off, the speakers sound much quieter in a loud room.Auto volume control has been removed.Volume rocker no longer beeps, so changing volume without audio actively playing is a literal crap shoot.There are also a number of glitches that randomly occur:1. At random sound only comes out on 1 stem.2. At random sound will be out of sync (one stem will play the sound slightly ahead of the other, creating an echo like effect).= Silencing Notifications ========================The ability to mute notifications is completely removed.If you are going to be listening to music or an audio book, you’re getting notifications along with that.The only way to fully stop notifications is to turn the frames off. Unfortunately this is now a difficult process.Turning them off requires removal of the frames, then holding down 2 buttons at once for 10 seconds. For those less dexterous (like myself), this requires both hands.This process is highly problematic, sometimes dangerous, and in some cases literally even illegal:1. On the annoyance side of things, I was talking to a coworker when my wife started texting me. I had to mentally tune out the notifications since I couldn’t stop them.2. As for danger: A few weeks back on my way to work, my co-workers started a back and forth on the teams app, and I got an ongoing flood of notifications. I then opted to turn the glasses off, which requires removal of the glasses (I can legally drive without my glasses, for those who can’t this is literally already illegal). I then had to use both hands (hard to do while still operating a steering wheel) to hold down the 2 power off buttons for 10 seconds. In my case, really bad timing had the car next to me change lanes without looking while I was still holding both buttons. I did manage to swerve, but it easily could have been tragic.* Note that amazon support contacted me on posting about the near accident, but in the end said they would pass the information on for possible use in future products.The removal of mute function OR the time and complexity added in powering them off alone would have been manageable. The fact they did BOTH was a really, REALLY bad idea.= Form Factor ===============================The physical design is noticeably different than Gen 2, with caveats:1. Lenses, though close to Gen 2, cannot be transferred into these (so new lenses is a must).2. They are noticeably smaller than Gen 2. I have a big head so the stems squeeze my head, leaving visible dents on either side of my head once removed (Gen 2 fit me comfortably).3. I’m not happy with the end of the stem design. They barely make contact with my ears at all and are constantly sliding down my nose as a result.= Phone Calls ===============================These still work as bluetooth headsets for calls, with one downgrade which I REALLY don’t understand.These frames do NOT remember contact info!On my Gen 2 frames I frequently used eyes to call my wife. The very first use I did have to provide identifying information ONCE. From that point forward, it was a breeze:Me: “Alexa, call my wife”Alexa: “Ok” (then dials)No fuss, no muss, it worked.THIS version goes through the following routine EVERY SINGLE TIME:Me: “Alexa, call my wife”Alexa: “Did you mean wife?”Me: “Yes”Alexa: “What is your wife’s full name?”Me: “[wife’s name]”Alexa: “Do you know your wife’s full phone number?”Me: “Yes”Alexa: “What is the phone number”Me: “[wife’s phone number]” (then dials)THIS IS EVERY TIME WITHOUT FAIL!If I immediacy ask Alexa to call my wife again, it’s the ENTIRE routine all over again!!!This one makes me shake my head, how did this fail this far?= Charging =================================Gen 2 used a magnetic cable. This may not have been elegant, but it worked. I bought several cables, always having one close by to charge. And you could even charge while wearing them (which I did on occasion).The new frames use a large charging cradle, with drawbacks:1. The charge stand looks like it wants to be a piece of modern art.2. It’s too big to be portable.3. No way to wear them while charging them4. It also fails to charge far too often… I’ve gone to get my frames on multiple occasions only to see a red light on the stand indicating they didn’t charge overnight… One occasion I had to remove and re-place them on the charge stand a good 10 to 15 times until the light stayed on without turning red.= Dual Pairing ===============================As mentioned above, this is the one new feature I like, but it too has an annoyance…If I turn my ipad off, I get a notification beep, a verbal indication it lost connection (keeping in mind they’re still connected to my phone so still functional), and a blue blinking light on the side of the frames that continues indefinitely until I either power the ipad back on, or power cycle the frames.= Action Buttons =============================Gen 2 had one action button, and a tap & swipe support on the stem, and it worked fairly well (and also managed to support both muting notifications, and single button power off).The dual button design on these, having 2 button next to each-other on the stem has lead me on more than one occasion to push the wrong action button (the difference between answering a call or rejecting it).= Final Thoughts =============================I get the feeling the design team on these really didn’t do much testing. So many things are worse than the previous generation. The question as to why I’m wearing them: Frames and lenses put me over $500 in the hole. It was also time for me to get new lenses, so I can see better with these.My hope for the future is Gen 4 goes back to the Gen 2 frames with added multi-device support.

Glasses seem good so far
Glasses seem to be working as expected. Had a little trouble pairing them but was able to get them to work. Just had one question. The lenses for our glasses are kind of dark. Can we switch them out for some lighter tented ones?

Can’t Charge on the Go
These glasses only charge on the stand. Who is taking a large stand everywhere?? Otherwise they are good tech. Stylish and light on my face. But USELESS if out of charge.When I tried the test pair before purchase, this issue was NOT revealed.