Amazon Echo Frames (2nd Gen)

Contemporary design is attractive ; Open-ear audio technology ; Great for phone calls ; Long battery life

Cheap-feeling construction ; A bit on the pricey side

Strong microphones ; Lightweight, comfortable design

Middling audio with no bass ; Expensive

The second-gen Amazon Echo Frames are comfortable, good-looking sunglasses that offer audio playback and hands-free Alexa access, but their sound quality isn't worth the high price.

Stylish, light, and water resistant ; Alexa at your beck and call ; Surprisingly effective (if not musical) “open-ear” speakers ; Impressive battery life

Practically no low-frequency response ; Alexa announces iOS notifications even with Do Not Disturb enabled (although you can manually disable notifications alerts) ; You can wake Alexa by accident ; Retro frame style won’t be to everyone’s taste

Amazon largely delivers on its promises with the sturdy, handsome, and cleverly designed Echo Frames, but having Alexa in your head won’t be for everyone.

Improved battery life ; Now available in three colors ; New software features like Auto Volume, VIP Filter, and Auto-Off ; Supports one-tap access to Google Assistant or Siri

Stems and frames around lenses are still a bit on the thick side ; No wireless charging ; Sunglass and blue-light lenses are more expensive than standard versions

The Echo Frames (2nd Gen) aren't a huge improvement over their predecessor, but they didn't need to be. Amazon made some good tweaks from the Day 1 beta test, like improved battery life, better styling, and useful software features to make the device...