Jeff Bezos made a microwave

After presumably running through a list of every item in existence that could conceivably be operated by Alexa, Amazon has come for the microwave.
The company on Thursday unveiled a whole slate of new Alexa-powered devices including its WiFi-connected, voice-activated microwave. Though the Amazon Basics Microwave, which will cost $60, does not have Alexa built into it, it uses Alexa by connecting to a nearby Echo device, per CNET.
Users will be able to tell their microwave, through Alexa, how long to cook their food for and which setting to use. For certain foods, simply telling Alexa what is being cooked will enable the microwave to punch in the right cook-time, as Amazon's David Limp helpfully demonstrated on stage by telling his machine to heat up a potato. The microwave comes with "dozens of quick-cook voice presents," Engadget reports, and it even comes equipped with a special Dash button that you can use to order popcorn.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
You do need to press an Alexa button before issuing any commands, though, so the idyllic dream of a totally button-free microwave experience — alas — remains out of reach for now. Read more about Amazon's microwaves, as well as the larger slate of products the company unveiled Thursday, at CNET.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
September 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include profiting from authoritarianism, and the National Guard entering the CDC
-
Should Britain withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights?
Talking Point With calls now coming from Labour grandees as well as Nigel Farage and the Tories, departure from the ECHR 'is starting to feel inevitable'
-
5 outspoken cartoons about Epstein survivors taking center stage
Cartoons Artists take on cover-ups, Trump surrounded, and more
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year