Amazon’s New Devices Show Push to Avoid Getting Shut Out of Personal AI

Amazon introduces 2 new AI products from Bee: Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse. (Courtesy Amazon)

Key Points

• Amazon launched two new Bee-branded AI devices that record audio and turn it into summaries and insights for users.
• The Bee Frontier is available for $74.99, while the Bee Eclipse will be available soon starting at $99.99.
• Amazon says the audio collected by the Bee devices is deleted as soon as it is processed rather than being retained.

Amazon.com has launched new artificial-intelligence products that record audio and turn it into summaries and insights for users as the e-commerce giant looks to remain competitive in the burgeoning personal AI sector.

Amazon announced on Thursday that it is launching two new Bee-branded AI products. Amazon acquired the AI hardware company in June 2025. One device—the Bee Frontier—can be worn as a bracelet or be clipped onto clothing, while the Bee Eclipse can be attached to a rear of a smartphone.

Like Amazon’s first Bee device, the Pioneer, the new models capture audio from the user and their surrounding and use it to provide insights and recommendations using the Bee mobile or desktop apps. The devices can also be connected to Alexa+, Amazon’s AI powered assistant, and the Amazon website. The former enables users to ask Alexa questions about recent interactions or conversations, while the latter gives Bee access to the users’ Amazon.com account and purchase history.

The Bee Frontier is now available at $74.99 and the Bee Eclipse will be “available soon,” starting at $99.99. Customers can also choose to subscribe to Bee Pro for $11.99 per month and gain access to unlimited memory, suggested to-dos, and other features.

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Amazon stock was up 0.2% on Thursday to $254.50.

The online retail giant is eager to stake its claim in the rapidly expanding consumer AI sector. Amazon last week announced three new Alexa Tablets, with Alexa+ built into each as it. The company is already in many consumers homes thanks to its range of Echo displays and speakers and its new tablets and Bee devices are intended to integrate with its existing ecosystem, provide more useful and personalized information to consumers, and help it fend off growing challenges.

Competition is fierce. Consumer tech behemoth Apple announced its own smart home lineup on Tuesday that promises to harness the vast troves of personal information on its customers’ iPhones. Alphabet’s Google, meanwhile, has integrated its Gemini AI into its smart home devices and its suite of productivity apps, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

To be a serious contender in the consumer AI race, Amazon needs to either gather more personal data or convince users to share it. The usefulness of Meta’s Muse AI service increases exponentially if a user gives it access to their email, bank statements, or other data. Without it, the agent can’t complete tasks like cancelling forgotten streaming subscriptions or surfacing important documents from a cluttered inbox.

Amazon doesn’t have the same access to its customers’ personal data as Apple or Google do. To get it, Amazon will need to convince customers it can be trusted and that it can deliver enough value to justify the expense of its hardware, and that of a Bee Pro subscription.

The new Bee devices offer conversation summaries, recaps, and 14 days of transcripts by default. To enable integration with Amazon.com, Alexa+, or third-party services like Apple HealthKit, users will need a Bee Pro subscription, which also offers unlimited recent conversation summaries, a personal chat assistant, and access to the desktop version of the Bee app.

Amazon says the audio Bee collects is deleted as soon as its processed rather than being retained and that no one else can access a user’s transcripts or related data without their permission. Users are also required to initiate Bee recordings with a button press, and an LED illuminates during recording. The same button is used to end a recording, and Bee devices automatically turn off if audio isn’t detected for a specified period. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed there is there is no passive or always-on recording.

Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com

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