It's no secret that handwashing is rather important aspect of hygiene–and it's more prevalent than ever. Now, Amazon has released a smart soap dispenser to help you wash your hands. Now that's a sentence nobody ever expected to say.
Amazon Releases a Smart Soap Dispenser
As first spotted by AFTVnews, Amazon has released a new smart soap dispenser aptly named, Smart Soap Dispenser. Rather than announcing it at the company's Alexa event in July 2021, Amazon just rolled the product out to its website for customers to purchase.
Unlike most automatic soap dispensers, Amazon's product is actually rather smart. The device comes with some of the usual smart home feature's you'd expect, such as Wi-Fi and a built-in timer, in a very different form factor. This is the first product of its kind.
Despite having smart features, the device does actually work like a normal automatic soap dispenser too. It can hold 12 ounces of soap, and will automatically dispense it to your hand when you activate the sensor. As the device uses variable sensing, it'll dispense more or less soap depending on how close your hand is to the nozzle.
The unusual smart home device retails for $54.99, making it much more expensive than any other soap dispenser you'll buy. It's currently available for pre-order, and is expected to go live on August 4, in the US at least.
What Does Amazon's Smart Soap Dispenser Do?
The headline feature of the Smart Soap Dispenser is the 10 LED light in place to count down as you wash your hands. Like the Apple Watch's handwashing feature, the timer will encourage you to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, as per all recommend guidance.
Amazon's unusual product also comes with Alexa capabilities, sort of. The soap dispenser doesn't actually come with a speaker or microphone. You'll need an existing Amazon Echo device to use the soap dispenser with Alexa, and you'll only be able to integrate it into routines. To do this, the device comes packed with some pretty basic Wi-Fi connectivity.
Unfortunately, since this is a smart device, it does need power. Luckily, it runs from a battery, so you don't need to try and find an outlet near your bathroom. Amazon states the battery will last for three months on a single charge. This battery charges through the very old-fashion micro-USB port.
What's Going Smart Next?
Perhaps a $55 soap dispenser is a bit over the top, when you could just count to 20 in your head. But Amazon's providing an extra option to consumers.
Either way, it's still fantastic to see technology making its way into our homes in new ways. It does beg the question, what's the next everyday item to turn smart?