According to a new report, Amazon plans to ship Alexa-powered wireless earbuds in late 2019 to take on Apple’s AirPods.

“The headphones will look and act similar to AirPods, but people working on the product inside Amazon are striving for better audio quality, the people said,” a Bloomberg report explains. “Like the AirPods, the Amazon earbuds are designed to sit inside users’ ears without clips around the ear.”

The Amazon earbuds are notable for another reason: They will be Amazon’s first Alexa-powered wearable product.

As you might expect, the earbuds will allow users to order goods from Amazon.com, and access music, weather, and other information. But in addition to voice control, the earbuds will also support gestures, including the ability to pick up and end calls with a tap. They will reportedly work with both iPhones and Android handsets.

As with AirPods and other wireless earbuds, the Amazon earbuds will come with a charging case. It will charge via USB, not Qi wireless charging pads.

As for timing, it’s unclear. Bloomberg says that Amazon originally wanted to ship the product by now but suffered development delays. But it typically launches new consumer electronic products in September.

Tagged with Amazon Alexa