Amazon Unveils Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse AI Devices That Listen and Summarize Your Day

Amazon today announced the Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse, the first new hardware from the company since it acquired the Bee startup last year. Both devices use microphones to capture conversations in real time, then turn the speech into summaries, insights, reminders, and to-do lists that appear in a companion app. Raw audio is processed and deleted rather than stored, with transcripts encrypted using keys that stay on the device itself.

Bee Frontier updates the previous wrist-based model and costs $74.99. Units are currently available in Onyx, Lavender, and Sage. You can wear it on a soft, flexible wristband or clip it to your clothing or backpack. Its redesigned design is much smaller and lighter than before, has an IP67 rating for dust and water protection, and includes two microphones to help you cut through the noise in a busy restaurant or open-plan office. There is a single button to start and stop recording, and a light turns on while it is engaged. The battery lasts about seven days before you need to plug it in for a USB-C charge, and the device also includes a useful “sleep” mode that powers down after a period of silence, which you can enable in the app.

Bee Eclipse appears to be a sliver of a card that will stick to the back of your phone via magnets, priced at $99.99 in Silver, Midnight, Honey, and Blush, and touted as “coming soon.” It’s slightly larger than the previous model, so it should last longer than 21 days on a single battery charge. There is a button and a light on board, and it will even remind you to ensure that all of the persons you plan to record have granted you permission to do so. Both Bee models use a brand new mobile app that has been completely redesigned, as well as a desktop version that allows you to see all of your notes and summaries in one place. From there, it’s all about integration, as you can connect to services such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Apple HealthKit, and your own photos, allowing it to send follow-up emails or book appointments based on what’s been said.


The basic package is exactly that, with conversation summaries, recaps, and a memory window all arriving on the hardware, providing around 14 days of history to play with. Bee Pro, which costs at $11.99 per month, includes limitless recent summaries, suggested tasks, daily recollections, discussion templates, a virtual assistant to help you manage your chats, and the desktop software. For an additional $11.99 per month, you can connect with Alexa+ and have hands-free access to all of your notes and to-do lists. Don’t forget that new purchases receive the first 30 days of Bee Pro for free, while existing users can continue to use all features at no cost.


Amazon values privacy, and they make it clear that no recorded audio remains on the device or in the cloud after processing. Nobody at the company may see your encrypted transcripts unless you choose to share them, and you have the ability to remove any record or summary at anytime. It’s all nice and visible, too, with lights and a button to indicate when you’re being filmed, and you can take control of it whenever you want.