Amazon adds microwave, oven control features to Alexa

There’s good news for homemakers who own a smart-home product that is run by the Alexa digital assistant. E-commerce giant Amazon has just announced that they plan on adding microwave and oven control features to their standalone artificial intelligence assistant. In other words, Alexa will now be able to handle requests like, “Alexa, microwave my food at high speed for 50 seconds.” The company further went on to add that they will be adding support for more number of cooking appliances with time.

According to a report published by The Verge, this feature comes along with a limitation on the side of the appliance. First of all, most homeowners don’t possess a smart microwave or oven. Even if you do have a smart microwave then it needs to be updated enough to support Amazon’s latest feature. The e-commerce giant has partnered up with many companies including Whirlpool, GE, LG, Samsung, and Kenmore but it is unclear on just how quickly the support will be rolled out.

The report by Verge states that consumer’s electronics manufacturer Whirlpool will be the first one to integrate the latest feature in its fresh set of devices. This will enable its customers to configure, start and operate its line of connected microwaves. While the exact date has not been specified, it seems that it will take place “soon.” Apart from this, GE Appliances, LG, Samsung, and Kenmore are also reportedly working towards extending support for Alexa-oriented commands at some point in the near future.

Amazon has certainly targeted a useful area by expanding its digital assistant’s reach to cooking appliances in the kitchen. More times than often, homemakers can have their hands full while cooking. In order to avoid confusion, Alexa can certainly be used as a quick and efficient solution. Hopefully, Alexa will be able to avoid accidental commands in the near future.