Bee unveils two AI note-taking devices

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Your heart can tell you a lot about your health. Apple Watch Series 12 measures your heart rate every five seconds with the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. So your vitals app, now with heart rate variability, can tell you when something is off. And your readiness score can let you know when to rest and when to push. Hear the story in every heartbeat with Apple Watch Series 12

The features described are for wellness purposes only and not for medical use. iPhone 11 or later required. Based on Apple conducted study of heart rate accuracy August 2026, visit apple.com/applewatchseries12.

SPEAKER_2 (0:31)

When you need to build up your team to handle the growing chaos at work, use Indeed Sponsored Jobs. It gives your job post the boost it needs to be seen and helps reach people with the right skills, certifications, and more. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. That's indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs.

Imran Shaikh (1:00)

BE unveils two AI note-taking devices, its first new product since being acquired by Amazon. More on that coming up, but first, Fitbit Edge versus Fitbit Air. The difference is beyond a screen. By Ian Carlos Campbell.

Google cares about fitness trackers again. The company has continually iterated on the Pixel launch since it launched in 2022 and even released the kid-focused Fitbit Ace LTE in 2024 But you wouldn't be wrong to think the company had all but given up on releasing an affordable wearable under the Fitbit name. That changed in May with the release of the $99 Fitbit Air, an affordable whoop competitor without a screen. It changed again in October with the introduction of the $179 Fitbit Edge, a new half-step between the company's most affordable tracker, and the Pixel Watch 5

Both devices offer AI-powered features not available on Fitbit's older wearables, and more importantly, do so without costing an arm and a leg or locking you into the Android ecosystem. Now, you do have to pay for Google Health Premium if you want to use them to their fullest, but the Edge and the Air otherwise seem like great options if you're not interested in spending hundreds of dollars on a smartwatch. Just because they support some AI tools doesn't mean they're completely interchangeable, though. The Fitbit Edge features a screen and some subtler differences that might make it worth picking over the Fitbit Air, depending on what you're looking for. Learn more with the latest from Ian Carlos Campbell, Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Air. The differences beyond a screen, right now at engadget.com.

Just over a year after being acquired by Amazon, wearable AI startup B has quite a few products to unveil. It's introducing two new AI devices today, alongside a pro subscription offering and some other software updates. First up is the B Frontier, which is essentially a follow-up to and replacement of the previous Pioneer. Like it, the Frontier is basically a Fitbit-like module that you can slot into a bracelet or a clip so you can attach it to your clothes or bags. It has an onboard button, like the Pioneer, to initiate a note-taking session or invoke the app's Buzz AI Assistant, as well as an LED indicator to convey when it's listening or charging, for instance. But the Frontier has evolved from its first-gen predecessor, which cost $50 and seems like a product that would appeal most to early adopters.

This new version is not only smaller and lighter, but also comes in more colors. The original was only available in one version, and in the box with it came a black band and a yellow band, along with a clip attachment. That selection might fit the bee, you know, the insect vibes, but certainly isn't the most sartorially versatile. I'm a fan of the lavender and sage color options for the bee Frontier, and those who want something more generic can opt for the black Onyx version. Additionally, the Frontier is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, according to Amazon. Whereas, the Pioneer was not even water resistant. Both models have dual microphones with noise filtering to tune out background chatter, though the effectiveness of the Frontier's attempts at this will require in-depth testing to determine. Those are the main physical differences between the Frontier and the Pioneer. The two share the same 7-day battery life estimate, USB-C charging port, and similar functionality. One press of the button can initiate a recording session where bee listens to your surroundings and delivers transcripts and summaries of conversations. Pressing and holding the button allows you to ask a question of the AI assistant or leave yourself a voice note. The Bee Frontier is available now for $75 at Amazon, and you may want to wait till full reviews are out to decide if the water resistance, new colors, and smaller size are worth the money. The Pioneer is no longer available to purchase. The other piece of hardware that Bee is announcing today is the Eclipse, a magnetic, rectangular puck you can snap on to your phone. It's like a thicker credit card with three on-board microphones, a button on the top left corner, and an LED indicator light next to it. The Eclipse is a lot bigger than the Frontier, which also means it can last a lot longer. In fact, it offers three times the battery life, with Bee promising it will last more than 21 days. This is a new type of device for Bee since it's not really wearable for people and more like a wearable for phones. But at its core, the Eclipse basically performs the same functions as a Frontier or Pioneer. You can push a button to start a session, the indicator light turns on, and the AI gets to work, summarizing your discussions and attempting to identify who is speaking or what is being said. The company said that like all Bee devices, audio is never stored, cannot be accessed or shared, and users are prompted to gain permission from call participants each time a recording is started. It added that the Eclipse, like the Frontier, is designed with privacy at its core, with one button to turn it on or off, and a visible indicator light on when it's summarizing a conversation. While the rationale behind a little light signaling to people nearby that a device might be recording is sound, it's worth noting that the shape, size, and magnetic attachment of the Eclipse means it closely resembles a portable battery charger. Those things have indicator lights as well, and it can be easy to see how someone might assume an indicator LED means something is charging, rather than listening. Still, B is far from the only company making AI note-taking devices that snap onto your phone. There's Pocket, Plaud, Camu, Ineo, Roon, Raycon, and undoubtedly countless more littering the venture capital-fueled grounds of Silicon Valley. And the issues that B's eclipse will run into relating to its form factor will likely be faced by the entire category as well. If B's offering is of interest, and you have $100 to spare, you can get the eclipse in one of four admittedly attractive colors. Silver, Midnight, Honey, and Blush. Amazon says it will be available soon, and nothing more specific on timeframe has been shared. The company is also unveiling the B Pro subscription plan today. For $11.99 a month, it offers some additional features, like unlimited recent conversation summaries, suggested to-dos, daily memories, conversation templates, and a few new integrations that were also announced today. Before I get into those, though, a quick note for existing B users. If you're feeling nervous, as these sound like features you've been enjoying and you're concerned they might suddenly be rested away and put behind a paywall, you might not be affected. B's founder Mario Zolo told me in a briefing that for the customers that have been with the company since its early days, Zolo said as a sign of gratitude, we're giving to them the B they have today. Zolo added that for them, the entire feature set is free forever. All new B customers also get 30 days of free B Pro use. If you want the features I'm about to mention, then you'll need a Pro subscription. First, the company is expanding its in-app integrations, which previously included Google Calendar, Gmail, and Apple's HealthKit. It's introducing the ability to connect to Alexa Plus and amazon.com. If you connect it to your Amazon account, your B can suggest items you might have mentioned in conversations that you wanted to purchase. These product recommendations will show up on Amazon's homepage as well as in the B apps. You'll also be able to create custom shopping lists, including things that came up in your conversations. If you connect B to Alexa Plus, you can ask your Echo or other Alexa-enabled device for information that your B might know. This could be anything from conversation summaries, to-dos or book recommendations from friends. With this enabled, you won't have to hunt for and open the B app on your phone and ask for what you want. You can just ask your speaker or TV to do so. Amazon said that the Alexa devices would use voice identification to ascertain that it's you and not, say, a random interloper or nosy partner before sharing the information. Amazon stressed that both these features are opt-in, so the user has to give permission before information is shared. Finally, B is launching a desktop app for Mac or Windows, which you can access with a Pro Plan. This doesn't just give you access to your recaps and chats on your computer, but also allows you to do additional transcribing from the desktop. It's as full-featured as the mobile app. Given the recent controversy around Apple's audio intelligence features, specifically Siri Recap and Live Rewind, it's worth bringing up B's private compute. It's what the company described in a blog post on September 24th, about two weeks after the Apple launch, as a secure and isolated processing environment that no one, including Amazon and B, can access. That's not to say this did not exist prior to the Apple event. The post does not make that very clear, other than saying that Amazon and B developed private compute from the ground up, and the technology builds on the foundation of the AWS Nitro system and its AWS Nitro Trusted Platform Module. In Thursday's announcement, Amazon reiterated the tenets of B private compute, including reminders that no audio is ever stored. Audio is processed into insights in real time and deleted after processing, the company said in a press release. It also said that no one can access your data unless you choose to share it. Transcripts are encrypted using keys that can only be created and controlled by your device, and that you can delete your transcripts and summaries whenever you want.