Introduced last September, the Amazon Echo Buds headphones are a great alternative to Apple’s AirPods. Available at $120 a lot less than the competition, they come with a plethora of useful features, including Alexa compatibility and Bose noise reduction. There were also rumors about activity tracking features for fitness enthusiasts, but these were not confirmed at the time of the headphones’ announcement.
Amazon Echo Buds: activity tracking comes with an update
The feature was spotted by CNBC. By testing the new Amazon Echo Buds, the site found a new section in the headphone management app. Dedicated to sports tracking data. The feature was enabled in a recent update as the interface wasn’t there during the first weeks of use. According to CNBC, all you have to do is say the command “Alexa, start a training session” to start watching. The tester explains that he walked around his office for a few seconds with his headphones on.
Alexa’s report then told him that he walked 1 minute 37 seconds for 64 meters and took 114 steps per mile on average in 44 minutes 13 seconds. The functionality is currently limited as the report does not provide any information other than the number of steps, distance traveled and the average speed of the user. Metrics such as heart rate are not shown.
Exactly how the Echo Buds work as an activity tracking device is not yet clear. Linked watches and bracelets used for this purpose embed certain heart rate sensors to improve the accuracy of measurements beyond what a simple accelerometer would allow. Amazon’s earphones, on the other hand, don’t seem to have a built-in heart rate monitor.
As a reminder, Echo Buds, like most Amazon products, are currently only available in the United States. The headphones will soon reach Europe, but their price in euros and their release date in our country have not yet been announced.
Source : CNBC
