When you have ever used an AI transcription service for conferences, calls, lectures, or extra, you understand how good the expertise is at capturing each element of a dialog and changing it into textual content. Now, think about a world the place you possibly can entry an AI-generated transcription of each real-world interplay you’ve got. Enter the Bee AI wearable.
On Wednesday, Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes introduced via LinkedIn that Bee is becoming a member of Amazon. The idea behind Bee is easy: a $49 wristband outfitted with mics and AI that’s worn always to pay attention to your on a regular basis interactions, transcribe them, and supply further insights like conversational search, motion suggestions, and extra.
Additionally: Meta Ray-Bans vs. Oakley: I tested both smart glasses, there’s a clear winner
The main points of the deal weren’t disclosed. Nonetheless, Amazon’s curiosity in making the acquisition, paired with the discharge and recognition of different AI {hardware} merchandise such because the Meta Oakley AI smartglasses, makes one factor clear — AI-first {hardware} is about to have an enormous second.
The Bee Wearable
The Bee AI-wearable is supposed to be an AI companion that’s passively with you always in the course of the day. Whereas at first, the product might sound invasive and superfluous, at CES 2025, I wore and demoed the wristband, and the real-world purposes of the product grew to become evident.
Utilizing audio, the wristband captures conversations all day except manually paused with the button on it. It then will get to know you and offers AI summaries of your conversations, transcripts — which you’ll be able to parse utilizing a chatbot interface — and actionable insights. The battery is meant to final seven days, enabling customers to actually use it as a companion with out having to fret about recharging at completely different instances in the course of the day.
The use instances are countless. An apparent instance: being in a gathering and desirous to reference the notes later. Much less so: stuff you would not usually have the ability to refer again to, corresponding to revisiting a earlier dialog you had with a roommate through which they talked about what they wished you to get from the shop, what identify the individual you simply met was, and even when your good friend stated their birthday was. You may even get suggestions on the way you dealt with a state of affairs, asking one thing like “How might I’ve reacted higher in that state of affairs?”
Naturally, individuals might have considerations about having a wearable hearken to them at each second in the course of the day. Once I spoke to co-founder Ethan Sutin at CES, he reassured me that no people can see the conversations, and the information won’t be bought or used for coaching.
There aren’t any particulars on what Amazon plans to do with the band, and it is vitally potential the ultimate product will look loads completely different and extra in keeping with the suite of current Amazon AI merchandise, together with an integration into the Alexa ecosystem. Amazon is deeply concerned within the AI house with its Nova basis fashions, which might be built-in into the product to make it higher.
A rising market
As generative AI turns into extra ubiquitous, the expertise has turn into more and more embedded into merchandise. Practically each new cellphone, headphone, smartwatch, and wearable now has a generative AI function or expertise aimed toward optimizing customers’ interactions with their units. Nonetheless, to carry AI help to the subsequent degree, you want a tool that captures as a lot data as potential in actual time, giving approach to a brand new form of product.
This kind of product has been tried earlier than, such because the Rabbit R1 or the Humane AI pin. Nonetheless, one of many largest issues with these launches — past efficiency — is that they required individuals to hold an additional system they usually would not need to. In consequence, we’re seeing firms attempting their hand at new type elements that may provide customers simple AI entry and experiences with subtly.
Additionally: The 8 Pixel Watch 4 rumors I’m most curious about (and what they could mean for the smartwatch)
OpenAI has a {hardware} AI product within the works, seen by its acquisition of the Jony Ive startup. At Google I/O 2025, Google gave extra particulars about its Android XR glasses, which pack Gemini’s help, in-lens shows, audio system, cameras, and mics into the type of conventional eyeglasses. Meta simply partnered with luxury eyewear brand Oakley to launch smartglasses embedded with Meta AI with even longer battery life, making it simpler for customers to all the time entry an assistant.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET’s mum or dad firm, filed an April 2025 lawsuit in opposition to OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in coaching and working its AI programs.)
As firms compete to launch a wearable that makes AI probably the most accessible and interesting for customers so as to add to their system rotation, this market is sure to turn into extra saturated within the close to future.
You may sustain with my newest tales and tech adventures on social media. Observe me on Twitter/X at @sabrinaa_ortiz and on Instagram at @sabrinaa.ortiz.
Get the morning’s high tales in your inbox every day with our Tech Today newsletter.
