Amazon Dash buttons are no longer available for purchase

When they first came out, Amazon's Dash buttons easily became the butt of jokes. Who would want a dedicated button just to order laundry soap through Amazon? Apparently, a lot did and Amazon saw the quirky $5 connected devices as hit to the point that its success may have been its own undoing. Now the retailer has announced that it will no longer be selling these quirky physical Dash buttons but its spirit and support lives on in today's connected home appliances.

Before the smart home market exploded, very few companies thought of connecting their products and appliances directly to the Internet. In a sense, the Amazon Dash was a trailblazer, even if the idea seemed almost ridiculous at that time. The small buttons, however, appealed to both consumers and brands to the point that Amazon shipped millions of Dash buttons during its four year stint, with products ranging from regular groceries to pet food to even condoms.

Today, the idea of ordering specific items at a push of a button is no longer so alien. No, that doesn't mean that other companies have tried to outdo Amazon by making their own Dash buttons. Instead, Amazon's Dash Replenishment Service integrates that exact same functionality directly into appliances, like those from Whirlpool and Samsung.

Dash buttons already in the wild will continue to work as long those still have users. But while the physical buttons themselves may no longer be available for purchase, Dash does have virtual equivalents on Amazon's website. Plus, you can always shop with your voice using Amazon Alexa on a wide range of devices. The odd and almost comical button may now be dead but its legacy will live on in smart homes.