One of the stranger rumors ahead of today’s Amazon event has become fact. The company’s attempting to make a big push into home appliances, so it’s leading the way with its very own microwave.
The Amazon Basics Microwave apparently began life as an in-house reference product, as the company was developing an API for third parties to develop their own Alexa-powered devices. The microwave is “still stuck in the late 70s,” the company said at the event. So it built a new one.
Among the other things the company had to solve was the ability to make the microwave work with Wi-Fi signals — which has proven a difficult problem to solve. Unlike early rooms, Alexa isn’t built-in. Rather the appliance works with a nearby Echo, so you can cook things via voice.
The real killer app, however, is a built-in Dash replenishment, so you can order popcorn directly from the device. Seriously. The other big upside here is the price — the microwave will be available later this year for $60.
Check out our full coverage from the event here.