Amazon Basics Microwave With Alexa Would Be Ridiculous If It Wasn't So Cheap
Amazon is adding Alexa support to one of its most popular microwaves, with the new Amazon Basics Microwave with Alexa now capable of responding to voice commands. It's another sign of Alexa's spread into the kitchen, which Amazon says is one of the most common locations for the virtual assistant to be found.
The new microwave relies on the Alexa Connect Kit, which is also being announced today. It's designed to be an easy, low-cost way for companies making appliances – like those in the kitchen, but not exclusively – that can integrate with Alexa on an Echo smart speaker. It includes both Bluetooth and WiFi.
So, the Amazon Basics Microwave with Alexa is an example of just how straightforward that Alexa Connect Kit can be integrated – and how affordably. The microwave will actually cost just $59.99, in fact. That's in part because it doesn't have an Echo-equivalent built in, exactly.
Instead it will use a nearby Echo smart speaker to act as the microphone array. You'll be able to instruct the microwave to set the timer and power levels by voice, as well as add time to something you're already cooking. However, you can also ask the microwave to cook something by name: if you want to cook a potato, for example, you can do that by saying "Alexa, cook a potato" and have the settings automatically established.
Amazon is adding support for another of its services, too. Amazon Dash is the retailer's automatic reordering system, allowing shoppers to quickly get a replacement to something they use regularly but have run out of, like washing powder or batteries. Integration with Dash will reorder commonly-cooked items, like popcorn, when you run out. [Update: there's not a Dash button on the microwave itself; that's just a logo, it turns out.]
It's not the first Alexa-compatible microwave we've seen this year, mind. Back in July, GE announced its own Smart Microwave, which also allows for times and power levels to be established by voice command. Like Amazon's microwave, it doesn't have an Echo or far-field microphone array built in, instead relying on a smart speaker nearby. However, Amazon is undercutting GE considerably, with the GE Smart Microwave costing more than $100.