Why You Can Trust CNET Amazon Smart Oven: Alexa device is air fryer, microwave, convection oven in one
The Amazon Connect Kit will make Alexa your digital sous chef for just $250.
- She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
Now we're cookin'.
Alexa wants to be a Julia Child for the smart home set. On Wednesday, at its annual product launch, Amazon unveiled the latest Alexa-compatible kitchen countertop appliance: the Amazon Smart Oven. It's an 4-in-1 microwave that adds convection cooking, an air fryer and food warmer. Alexa will let you know when to stir the food or when it's finished.
The tech company says the Smart Oven is "Certified for Humans," meaning it takes all the stress out of cooking.
The Smart Oven, which is sizable enough to cook a 5-pound chicken, includes over 30 built-in preset commands that work with Alexa on an Echo device. You can also check the temperature with a special probe that ensures your food is cooked to your specifications.
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With the Scan to Cook feature, you can use your Alexa app or the Echo Show to start scanning prepackaged foods from stores like Whole Foods and automatically program the oven to cook. The Smart Oven starts at $249 (it's US only) and comes with an Echo Dot smart speaker. Set up is as easy as plugging the microwave in and connecting to the Alexa app. The new Smart Oven will work with Fire OS, Android and iOS devices.
It launches Nov. 14.
Amazon also plans to expand the number of products that work with the Alexa Connect Kit. The kit gives developers new ways to invent Alexa-compatible products for the home. Its capabilities step in when Bluetooth is limited and Wi-Fi is out of range.
Last year, Amazon released an Alexa-compatible microwave and clock. Both products are affordable extensions of the Alexa family made possible by the Alexa Connect Kit and Alexa Gadgets, respectively. Amazon announced the Alexa Connect Kit program last year as part of an initiative to make it easier for third-party hardware makers to develop Alexa-compatible products.
The 700-watt AmazonBasics Microwave costs $60 and can connect with a nearby Alexa device like the Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Show in the kitchen. The microwave responds to preset voice commands and can reheat liquids, frozen or regular food items, vegetables, meat and more.
The Amazon Echo Wall Clock, a $30 analog clock that runs off four double-A batteries, can also sync with a nearby Echo device. The Echo sets the time and maintains it, even when daylight saving time starts. The LED hash marks around the clock's face provide a visual representation of the timers you've set. You can see multiple timers, and all the LEDs flash.
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Correction, Sept. 26 at 6:09 a.m. PT: Amazon Echo Wall Clock is part of the Alexa Gadget Toolkit.
Originally published Sept. 25.
Update, Sept. 26: Adds more information.
