Amazon’s Alexa-enabled microwave hands-on: it cooks but does not speak

Amazon’s Alexa-enabled microwave hands-on: it cooks but does not speak

6 years ago
Anonymous $oIHRkISgaL

https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/20/17883710/amazon-microwave-hands-on-alexa-smart-features-photos-dash-button

I just heated up a mug of water in a microwave. It got hot. The difference is that I used the new AmazonBasics Microwave, which works with Alexa. That “works with Alexa” phrasing and the fact that this isn’t the “Echo Microwave” should tell you that this thing doesn’t have any microphones or a speaker (beyond one that can beep) on it. Instead, it’s a $59.99 device meant to showcase Amazon’s new system for companies to make their regular gadgets into smart gadgets.

The way the Alexa integration works is pretty clever: when you set it up, it will get paired to your Alexa system as “the microwave,” and then you can command Alexa to, you know, cook stuff. There are very few buttons on the microwave because all the presets for various food types have been stored in Amazon’s cloud instead.