Smart kitchen appliances are usually "smart" because they work with an app in some way.
You can control them with your phone or tablet, like the Tovala Steam Oven or the Smarter Coffee.
That functionality also typically means they're more expensive than their traditional equivalents.
The AmazonBasics Microwave subverts both of those expectations.
At $59.99, it costs about the same as any other small 700-watt microwave, and instead of direct app control, you can simply use Alexa voice commands to cook.
It isn't terribly powerful, and you need a separate Echo device in order to use the voice functionality, but it's priced similarly to models that don't do nearly as much, making it a great buy and our Editors' Choice.
Honest, Objective Reviews
Daxdi.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
Plain Black Box
Don't expect particularly fancy or stylish design flourishes—this is a $60 microwave, after all.
At first glance, it looks like any small microwave you can pick up at your local electronics store.
It's a 10.1-by-17.0-by-11.6-inch (HWD) black metal box with a flat door on the front, punctuated by a curved black plastic handle and a window with a perforated insulation layer on the inside to let you see if the microwave is lit up and running, but not a clear view of what's inside.
A panel to the right of the door holds a green, four-character alphanumeric LED display with an array of flat buttons below it.
The controls are all standard microwave buttons like a number pad for entering time and power levels, a kitchen timer, and defrost buttons by both time and weight.
Pause/Stop and Start/+30 Sec buttons sit below the number pad, with an Ask Alexa button between them.
The Ask Alexa button is the only hint that this isn't simply a generic microwave.
It triggers any Echo device with which the oven is paired to listen for cooking commands without the Alexa wake word.
This isn't a very large or powerful microwave.
It has only 700 watts of power and a capacity of just 0.7 cubic feet, putting it at the smaller end of the appliance spectrum.
It's fine for individuals and couples, but heating and reheating food for a whole family will take multiple cooking cycles.
A 1,100-watt, 1.2-cubic-foot oven would be a welcome option (while we're at it, some stainless steel accents would also be nice).
A glass platter on a rotating carousel turns constantly when the microwave is cooking.
Setup and Alexa
Out of the box, the AmazonBasics Microwave works like any other microwave oven.
You don't need to connect it to your network to use it; just press the buttons on the control panel to enter cooking times and settings.
To get the most out of it, however, you should set the microwave up through the Alexa app and pair it with an Amazon Echo device, like an Echo Dot.
The setup process is fairly simple, and similar to setting up an Echo.
Go into the Device menu in the Alexa app, tap the plus sign, and select Add Device.
From there you can scroll down the list to Microwaves, which will walk you through connecting to the ad-hoc Wi-Fi network the microwave creates in setup mode, and then putting the microwave on your own Wi-Fi network.
After that, you can pair the microwave with any Echo speaker you currently have on your network.
With the microwave online and paired with an Echo device, you can use your voice to cook.
The AmazonBasics Microwave works like most other smart home devices that support Alexa, letting you directly control it with a set of voice commands.
"Alexa, microwave for two minutes," will start a two-minute cooking cycle at full power.
"Alexa, microwave for five minutes on power five," will start a five-minute cooking cycle at medium power.
You can also tell Alexa to defrost or reheat for any period of time and the microwave will use those modes.
The AmazonBasics Microwave also features a few dozen cooking modes for specific foods.
This means you can tell Alexa to simply reheat a cup of coffee, cook a potato, or defrost a pound of frozen chicken.
A full list of food presets are available on Amazon's site, and since the microwave is connected to the internet, Amazon can add more presets in the future.
If you don't want to use the Alexa wake word, you can simply press the Ask Alexa button on the microwave.
This will make the microwave beep and trigger the paired Echo to start listening.
At this point Alexa will understand you want to control the microwave, so you can simply say, "Two minutes," or, "Defrost 8 ounces of ground beef." Of course, this means your Echo should be placed within earshot of the microwave.
Cooking Performance
I tested the microwave's presets with a frozen curry entree.
Alexa has presets both for reheating a dinner plate and heating frozen food, and I chose the latter.
I pressed the Ask Alexa button and said, "10 ounces of frozen food." The microwave then cooked the entree for just less than eight minutes, switching between multiple power levels in the process.
This seemed in line with the instructions of the box, which suggested five minutes at maximum power for a 1,100-watt microwave.
The curry came out fully cooked, with no icy chunks remaining after the cycle.
The center was lukewarm, but the instructions recommended stirring the dish halfway through (a step I omitted), and giving the curry a quick stir made it a consistently edible temperature.
The carousel helps distribute heat, but if you're cooking dense or frozen food, you should stir halfway through the cycle as advised.
I then tried to heat a cup of tea from a lukewarm temperature, which reminded me how stiff Alexa's syntax can be.
I put the mug in the microwave, pressed the Ask Alexa button, and said, "Cup of tea." Alexa asked for how long, puzzling me, since specifying a time would negate the usefulness of a cooking preset to begin with.
I then asked for, "One cup of tea," and Alexa asked for a time again.
I then checked the list of food presets and found that, while coffee, milk, water, and soup are present, tea isn't.
So I asked for, "A cup of coffee." Alexa asked the volume of coffee.
I said, "One cup," and Alexa said there wasn't an active call to answer.
I then pressed the Ask Alexa button again, and asked in an increasingly frustrated voice, "One cup of coffee," and the microwave began heating the cup for one minute and fifteen seconds.
The cup came out drinkably hot, so the voice command ultimately worked after a lengthy reminder that Alexa continues to lag behind Google Assistant in terms of flexibility with natural language.
Microwaving some noodle soup was also a little finicky, but not nearly as much as the tea.
After a few hiccups where I didn't get quite the right phrasing Alexa expected, the microwave cooked the soup successfully.
I just had to say, "Microwave noodle soup," then, "Two cups," after Alexa asked for the volume.
The soup came out nice and hot.
An Affordable Alexa Oven
The AmazonBasics Microwave is an inexpensive way to bring voice control to your cooking.
It's too small for a family, but individuals, couples, and dorm rooms will appreciate the $60 oven.
You need to bring your own Echo device to enable the voice control, and Alexa is still a bit clunky with natural language, but once you get used to simply saying what or how long you want to cook, the number pad on the front seems unnecessary.
Alexa control for the same price as most other small microwaves makes the stiff language and dull design easy to forgive.
And it also makes this an excellent, accessible way to start cooking with a smart appliance you'll use every day, and worthy of our Editors' Choice.
Pros
Convenient Alexa voice controls
Lots of automated options
Costs about as much as a non-smart microwave
The Bottom Line
The AmazonBasics Microwave is a small, simple microwave oven that responds to Alexa voice commands without costing more than a traditional model.
Smart kitchen appliances are usually "smart" because they work with an app in some way.
You can control them with your phone or tablet, like the Tovala Steam Oven or the Smarter Coffee.
That functionality also typically means they're more expensive than their traditional equivalents.
The AmazonBasics Microwave subverts both of those expectations.
At $59.99, it costs about the same as any other small 700-watt microwave, and instead of direct app control, you can simply use Alexa voice commands to cook.
It isn't terribly powerful, and you need a separate Echo device in order to use the voice functionality, but it's priced similarly to models that don't do nearly as much, making it a great buy and our Editors' Choice.
Honest, Objective Reviews
Daxdi.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
Plain Black Box
Don't expect particularly fancy or stylish design flourishes—this is a $60 microwave, after all.
At first glance, it looks like any small microwave you can pick up at your local electronics store.
It's a 10.1-by-17.0-by-11.6-inch (HWD) black metal box with a flat door on the front, punctuated by a curved black plastic handle and a window with a perforated insulation layer on the inside to let you see if the microwave is lit up and running, but not a clear view of what's inside.
A panel to the right of the door holds a green, four-character alphanumeric LED display with an array of flat buttons below it.
The controls are all standard microwave buttons like a number pad for entering time and power levels, a kitchen timer, and defrost buttons by both time and weight.
Pause/Stop and Start/+30 Sec buttons sit below the number pad, with an Ask Alexa button between them.
The Ask Alexa button is the only hint that this isn't simply a generic microwave.
It triggers any Echo device with which the oven is paired to listen for cooking commands without the Alexa wake word.
This isn't a very large or powerful microwave.
It has only 700 watts of power and a capacity of just 0.7 cubic feet, putting it at the smaller end of the appliance spectrum.
It's fine for individuals and couples, but heating and reheating food for a whole family will take multiple cooking cycles.
A 1,100-watt, 1.2-cubic-foot oven would be a welcome option (while we're at it, some stainless steel accents would also be nice).
A glass platter on a rotating carousel turns constantly when the microwave is cooking.
Setup and Alexa
Out of the box, the AmazonBasics Microwave works like any other microwave oven.
You don't need to connect it to your network to use it; just press the buttons on the control panel to enter cooking times and settings.
To get the most out of it, however, you should set the microwave up through the Alexa app and pair it with an Amazon Echo device, like an Echo Dot.
The setup process is fairly simple, and similar to setting up an Echo.
Go into the Device menu in the Alexa app, tap the plus sign, and select Add Device.
From there you can scroll down the list to Microwaves, which will walk you through connecting to the ad-hoc Wi-Fi network the microwave creates in setup mode, and then putting the microwave on your own Wi-Fi network.
After that, you can pair the microwave with any Echo speaker you currently have on your network.
With the microwave online and paired with an Echo device, you can use your voice to cook.
The AmazonBasics Microwave works like most other smart home devices that support Alexa, letting you directly control it with a set of voice commands.
"Alexa, microwave for two minutes," will start a two-minute cooking cycle at full power.
"Alexa, microwave for five minutes on power five," will start a five-minute cooking cycle at medium power.
You can also tell Alexa to defrost or reheat for any period of time and the microwave will use those modes.
The AmazonBasics Microwave also features a few dozen cooking modes for specific foods.
This means you can tell Alexa to simply reheat a cup of coffee, cook a potato, or defrost a pound of frozen chicken.
A full list of food presets are available on Amazon's site, and since the microwave is connected to the internet, Amazon can add more presets in the future.
If you don't want to use the Alexa wake word, you can simply press the Ask Alexa button on the microwave.
This will make the microwave beep and trigger the paired Echo to start listening.
At this point Alexa will understand you want to control the microwave, so you can simply say, "Two minutes," or, "Defrost 8 ounces of ground beef." Of course, this means your Echo should be placed within earshot of the microwave.
Cooking Performance
I tested the microwave's presets with a frozen curry entree.
Alexa has presets both for reheating a dinner plate and heating frozen food, and I chose the latter.
I pressed the Ask Alexa button and said, "10 ounces of frozen food." The microwave then cooked the entree for just less than eight minutes, switching between multiple power levels in the process.
This seemed in line with the instructions of the box, which suggested five minutes at maximum power for a 1,100-watt microwave.
The curry came out fully cooked, with no icy chunks remaining after the cycle.
The center was lukewarm, but the instructions recommended stirring the dish halfway through (a step I omitted), and giving the curry a quick stir made it a consistently edible temperature.
The carousel helps distribute heat, but if you're cooking dense or frozen food, you should stir halfway through the cycle as advised.
I then tried to heat a cup of tea from a lukewarm temperature, which reminded me how stiff Alexa's syntax can be.
I put the mug in the microwave, pressed the Ask Alexa button, and said, "Cup of tea." Alexa asked for how long, puzzling me, since specifying a time would negate the usefulness of a cooking preset to begin with.
I then asked for, "One cup of tea," and Alexa asked for a time again.
I then checked the list of food presets and found that, while coffee, milk, water, and soup are present, tea isn't.
So I asked for, "A cup of coffee." Alexa asked the volume of coffee.
I said, "One cup," and Alexa said there wasn't an active call to answer.
I then pressed the Ask Alexa button again, and asked in an increasingly frustrated voice, "One cup of coffee," and the microwave began heating the cup for one minute and fifteen seconds.
The cup came out drinkably hot, so the voice command ultimately worked after a lengthy reminder that Alexa continues to lag behind Google Assistant in terms of flexibility with natural language.
Microwaving some noodle soup was also a little finicky, but not nearly as much as the tea.
After a few hiccups where I didn't get quite the right phrasing Alexa expected, the microwave cooked the soup successfully.
I just had to say, "Microwave noodle soup," then, "Two cups," after Alexa asked for the volume.
The soup came out nice and hot.
An Affordable Alexa Oven
The AmazonBasics Microwave is an inexpensive way to bring voice control to your cooking.
It's too small for a family, but individuals, couples, and dorm rooms will appreciate the $60 oven.
You need to bring your own Echo device to enable the voice control, and Alexa is still a bit clunky with natural language, but once you get used to simply saying what or how long you want to cook, the number pad on the front seems unnecessary.
Alexa control for the same price as most other small microwaves makes the stiff language and dull design easy to forgive.
And it also makes this an excellent, accessible way to start cooking with a smart appliance you'll use every day, and worthy of our Editors' Choice.
Pros
Convenient Alexa voice controls
Lots of automated options
Costs about as much as a non-smart microwave
The Bottom Line
The AmazonBasics Microwave is a small, simple microwave oven that responds to Alexa voice commands without costing more than a traditional model.
