ByteDance releases Ola Friend, its first AI smart earbuds

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Credit: ByteDance

The ByteDance Doubao team on Thursday released its first AI smart earbuds, Ola Friend, weighing just 6.6 grams each, claimed by the company to be the lightest of their kind. The earbuds are integrated with the Doubao large language model, so that users can interact with Doubao via voice commands without needing to open their phones. Users can touch the earbuds or say the wake word “Doubao Doubao” to interact with the app on their phone. The AI assistant can convey emotions such as happiness and surprise, let users listen and speak simultaneously, interrupt or switch topics during conversations, according to the company. The earbuds come in four colors: white, black, purple, and silver, and are priced at RMB 1,199 ($170). [Doubao, in Chinese]