【Jesús Franco】

Amazon's Echo Buds didn't impress us much in 2019,Jesús Franco to paraphrase Shania Twain. Now, the empire that Jeff Bezos built is back with a second attempt at in-house wireless earbuds slated for this spring. And they might be what we were looking for the first time around.

The new Echo Buds address perhaps the biggest problem with the bulky first-gen model right away, with a slightly different form factor that Amazon says is 20 percent smaller. The stem's size has been reduced to hopefully improve in-ear comfort and the formerly glossy black exterior panel is now matte. These second-gen Echo Buds will also be available in an additional "glacier white" color scheme.

Oh, and they'll be launching in May for the competitive prices of $120 for a USB-C charging model and $140 for a new wireless charging model.

If you feel like gambling on a pre-order, Amazon is dropping the price by $20 for both models until May 12. That means for just $100, you'll get a pair of wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation. The original Echo Buds, by comparison, had a Bose-powered "noise reduction" feature that Amazon claims could only kill half as much ambient noise as the ANC in the new model.

Apple's standard-bearing AirPods Pro with ANC were $250 at launch just a year and a half ago, so the price difference here is pretty stark. Of course, until we get our hands on the new Echo Buds, we can't guarantee that the ANC works or the sound quality is any good, among every other worry one might have about Amazon-produced earbuds.

Of course, the new Echo Buds are also fully Alexa-powered, so you can use voice commands to ask for directions, find out how much battery is left (Amazon promises five hours of playback with ANC turned on), and even make the earbuds loudly chime in case you can't find them.

A size reduction and the inclusion of real ANC are both welcome additions to the new Echo Buds, at least on paper. If the new Echo Buds can actually deliver on quality at launch, it could be a big win for a company that already wins all the time anyway.

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