Is a smart coffee maker a gimmick or a game changer? I tried one to find out
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Considering that convenience is a top of mind concern when it comes to our day-to-day activities, we know just how much easier smart devices can make our daily routines. Since so many have become such an essential part of our lives, I was curious to see if there were other smart devices that could help me in different areas around the house, like the kitchen.
One device that peaked my interest was the Hamilton Beach's smart coffee maker, which I wanted to give a try since it works with Alexa—and I happen to have an Echo Dot.
Hamilton Beach Smart 12 Cup Coffee Maker
The details
Hamilton Beach's Smart 12 Coffee Maker is a smart drip coffee machine that works with Amazon Alexa to brew your perfect cup of coffee. It has all the features of regular coffee machine in addition to the ability to control it with an Amazon Echo.
With voice and app-control, you can ask Alexa to change the settings to start brewing, change brew strength, and even turn the coffee maker on or off. Although voice integration is set up, there is also a "ready to brew" button that needs to be clicked for the machine to get started with Alexa voice commands.
The coffee maker is also "Certified for Humans" — that's Hamilton Beach's way of saying this device is simple enough even for non-experts and easy to set up.
First impressions
I liked that the coffee maker doesn't that up that much space. If you're like me and have other small appliances such as air fryers or toasters in the kitchen, this smart coffee maker won't overwhelm your counter space.
Connecting and setting it up with Alexa was fairly simple, since I've been using an Echo Dot since last year and familiar with the device. Manually brewing the coffee is easy, but my favourite part was playing around with creating a morning routine using my Amazon Echo. I liked setting up the commands and seeing how they play out on my coffee maker.
Initially, I found that I was repeating myself once or twice to start the coffee maker, so keep in mind that there can sometimes be a bit of a lagging response. Luckily, it worked fine afterwards.
What should be added to improve this coffee maker is some indication of brewing being done. It wasn't ideal to watch the coffee maker until it's done brewing, since this model doesn't make a beep or other sound notification to let you know it's time to enjoy your coffee.
What other people are saying
As an Amazon's Choice product, this coffee maker has more than 4,000 global ratings with a 4.1 star rating. Shoppers love that is it easy to use, set up, and has automated features.
One shopper who rated it a 5-star review said "life doesn't get much better" than when you are able to lay in bed and get your coffee to start brewing on its own in the morning. Although the shopper initially had issues setting it up with their network, they gave "a million stars for service" to Hamilton Beach for their assistance.
Another shopper gave the product a 4-star review stated it is "pretty good" and it synced "quickly and easily" with Alexa. What they didn't like was having to "push an extra button" to make it "Alexa ready" —otherwise voice commands won't work.
Since I have been using this coffee maker I haven't had any issues. However, some reviewers noted that it worked well in the beginning and found that over time issues such as lights and display flickering on and off appeared.
One shopper said "it worked great the first few months," but having it for two years now "it stopped turning on."
The verdict
This is my first smart appliance so I was quite impressed with its functions. I think the smart coffee maker is worth it since I found it very easy to use but I don't entirely agree with the "Certified for Humans" concept. It might still be tricky for someone who isn't tech savvy to set up with the app and voice control, but it still works well once you do set it up.
For now, you'll catch me simplifying my morning routine with the Hamilton Beach Smart 12 Cup Coffee Maker.
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
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