Amazon unveils second-gen Echo Buds with a 20% smaller design and enhanced noise cancellation for $120 or $140 with a wireless charging case
Smaller, Lighter, Even Better Sound—Just $119.99 Dominic Preston / techadvisor.co.uk : Jabra Elite 85t review Simon Walsh / 9to5Toys : Amazon and Anker team up to make Echo Buds Charging Pad that also tops off a smartphone Prakhar Khanna / Pocketnow : New Amazon Echo Buds are smaller, lighter, and better than before Tweets: Kontra / @counternotions : If Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi can do it, why can't Amazon?! https://twitter.com/... Chris Welch / @chriswelch : Amazon just announced its second-generation Echo Buds. They're smaller, more comfortable (thanks to a vented design), and have active noise cancellation that's twice as powerful as before. And Amazon is still pricing them verrrry aggressively. https://www.theverge.com/... Dan Seifert / @dcseifert : pricing, per usual from Amazon, is aggressive. would also expect these to get discounted to $80 or so fairly regularly, as Amazon typically does Dieter Bohn / @backlon : @chriswelch ...they also have Amazon smile logos emblazoned on them. They're subtle but ...still. :| https://t.co/YUXsKS8nd4 Dieter Bohn / @backlon : Damn Amazon is being SUPER aggressive with pricing on the new Echo Buds. @chriswelch has the write up: they have proper venting, are smaller, drop the glossy finish, and have better noise cancellation. A big yikes for smaller Bluetooth headphone brands. https://t.co/8eoa6z6F8R
Context & Ripple Effects
The second-gen Echo Buds are Amazon answering its own 2019 critics. The first version drew fire for a case 'significantly larger than AirPods' in early hands-on impressions and for sticking with micro-USB while skipping wireless charging in the launch review — both complaints this redesign directly targets with a 20% smaller body and a $140 tier whose wireless-charging case comes via an Anker partnership.
The pricing keeps Amazon in the sub-$150 lane while rivals like Jabra's Elite 85t compete above it; a year later, Samsung would counter from the other direction with $230 Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, confirming a two-tier earbuds market with Amazon anchoring the value end.
First-order effects
- Buyers of the original Earbuds' two biggest gripes — bulky case and micro-USB charging — get direct fixes, at a $120 entry price or $140 with wireless charging.
Second-order effects
- Anker gains a branded accessory slot in Amazon's own product line, selling an Echo Buds charging pad that doubles as a phone charger.
- Samsung and Jabra face a competitor offering active noise cancellation well under their flagship prices, pressuring mid-tier models between Amazon's $120 floor and Samsung's eventual $230 ceiling.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, earbuds bifurcate into a value tier where Amazon iterates on fit and charging rather than audio prestige, and a premium tier where Samsung and Jabra justify higher prices — leaving the middle segment squeezed.
- Review feedback like the middling battery life and mediocre call quality noted in post-launch testing becomes the spec sheet Amazon iterates against next cycle, tightening the loop between critic verdicts and hardware revisions.
The trend: Consumer earbuds are splitting into a price-led volume tier anchored by Amazon and a feature-led premium tier led by Samsung and Jabra, with each generation of Amazon hardware closing the gap on the complaints that kept it there.