Amazon’s first wearable device will be a pair of smart glasses with the Alexa voice assistant built in, according to a report in the Financial Times. The device will reportedly look like a regular pair of glasses and use bone-conduction technology so that the user can hear Alexa without the need for earphones or conventional speakers. It won’t, however, likely have a screen or camera, although Google Glass founder Babak Parviz has apparently been working on the project following his hiring by Amazon in 2014
Google failed at this in the same way Microsoft failed at tablets before Apple introduced the iPad. Execution is everything, and maybe glasses that only offer voice user interface is a more manageable first step than featuring augmented vision too.
On the other side, so far, Amazon didn’t shine as a hardware vendor. Their Android phone, a primary vector for Alexa, was a failure. The other devices they sell are OK but not memorable, and not aesthetically pleasing (which becomes important in fashion accessories like glasses).
One final thought: Amazon long-term goal is to have Alexa everywhere, so these glasses will get increasingly cheaper (like Kindle devices do) or Amazon will find a way to apply the same technology to every glass on the market.