If you already love your Amazon Echo, you’re in luck: the company is planning on releasing several more Alexa-enabled devices in the near future — and pretty soon, you might not feel like going anywhere or doing anything without her.
According to reports from CNBC, Amazon plans to release up to eight smart home devices this year that will be powered by Alexa. The voice-controlled appliances and gadgets will reportedly include audio equipment (including an amplifier and a subwoofer), an in-vehicle device, and — perhaps most interesting of all — a microwave oven. While life cycle tests show that the polyester in tactile switches (the interface that allows us to select a heating time for our leftovers or our popcorn) can be actuated over 1,000,000 times without showing signs of wear, it’s likely that the Alexa-powered microwave will have some even more impressive features.
Not much is yet known about the gadgets Amazon will release. So if you’re included in the 14% of consumers who are in the process of adding an outdoor kitchen to your backyard or the even greater number of homeowners who want to remodel their indoor kitchen, you might have to wait a little while to assess whether the Alexa-enabled microwave oven is a worthwhile addition. However, the report from CNBC does speculate that the gadgets may not be released under the Echo line and may instead have their own range.
Amazon has already allowed other appliance manufacturers (such as GE and Garmin) to add in Alexa controls to their smart devices, but Amazon will now be releasing similar products on its own. The consequences of that might not thrill other manufacturers since there’s little doubt that Amazon will come out on top.
Internal documents obtained by CNBC suggest that the devices may be ready for release before the end of 2018. Amazon representatives have declined to comment on this story, but it seems likely that new Alexa devices are imminent. If you do get yourself an Amazon microwave or auto gadget, just make sure not to say anything too incriminating when you’re heating up food or are out on the road. You never know who might be listening.
