Amazon's New Echo Buds are Priced to Destroy

Amazon announced its brand new Echo Buds (2nd Gen) today, a pair of true wireless earbuds that will be very tough for many to compete against with the set of features Amazon is claiming and their starting price. We’re talking about earbuds with ANC, a smaller profile, Alexa access, and more at a (limited time) starting price of $99.

Compared to the original Echo Buds, this 2nd generation pair features a brand new design that is 20% smaller and offers a “premium audio architecture for crisp, balanced sound, [and] custom-designed Active Noise Cancellation technology.” Amazon also threw in wireless charging (for an extra $20), improved the microphones, and kept Amazon Alexa access.

These new Echo Buds should be more comfortable with a shortened nozzle and vents that’ll relieve pressure (like the Pixel Buds have). As you can see from the image up top, there are several wing and tips to swap out to help get you that perfect fit. And you’ll be able to wear them for a while, thanks to 15 hours of total battery life (5 hours on a single charge). Amazon says they are IPX4 rated for a little water resistance too.

The ANC (active noise cancellation) is a big deal, because drowning out the world is a key feature of any high-end headphone. But thanks to the starting price of these Echo Buds (2nd Gen), ANC is here without the premium price tag. Amazon says this new ANC cancels twice as much noise as the previous generation and they use the “inner and outer microphones to intelligently estimate sound pressure in your eardrum—which directly correlates to how you hear sound around you—to generate the inverse of that signal and cancel out unwanted noise, helping you stay immersed in your audio.” That’s kind of neat.

The new Echo Buds (2nd Gen) are available for pre-order today at a starting price of $99.99. If you want a wireless charging case with them, add $20. This pricing is only for pre-orders, I’ll have you know. Once they launch in May, the price will jump up to $119.