Alexa, take a shower with me! Kohler debuts new showerhead speaker powered by Amazon’s smart assistant that will allow users to listen to music, the news or even shop
- The furniture company will release a new showerhead with Amazon’s smart assistant built into it
- Users will be able to listen to music, hear Alexa read the news, or even shop
- They will have six to seven hours of playback and cost between $99 and $229
Kohler has announced its customers will soon be able to to talk to Alex in an unexpectedly intimate new place: the shower.
The plumbing and furniture company revealed an update to its line of Moxie AI Speakers that will now come built in to a showerhead.
The new showerhead will cost between $99 and $229 and provide playback time between six and seven hours.
Kohler is preparing a new showerhead equipped with its Moxie AI Speaker (pictured above) for release in 2020, giving users the chance to talk to Alexa will scrubbing up.
The speaker will support the full range of Alexa options, according to Engadget, letting users listen to music, hear the news, or order new household items from Amazon, all from the steamy confines of the shower.
It’s part of Kohler’s continuing efforts to turn the bathroom into a platform for smart assistants and remote user control.
The company is planning to release a smart mirror, called the Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror, that will work with both Alexa and Google Assistant.
It’s also designed the Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet, which will feature a heated seat, built-in speakers, and personalized ‘cleansing and drying functions.’
All of these new smart bathroom technologies will be operable through Kohler Connect, the company’s smartphone app that will let users customize water temperature, and turn on the showerhead or bath faucet in advance.
With the right smart equipment, users will also be able to create integrated mood settings for showers, customizing light levels, audio presets, temperature, and steam levels, for what the company describes as a ‘spa-like showering experience.’
The growing range of smart bathroom products will all be operable remotely through the Kohler Connect smartphone app (pictured above)
When asked in 2018 about the company’s support for smart assistants like Alexa in a space as personal as a bathroom, CEO David Kohler emphasized the company’s respect for privacy.
‘We don’t want to do technology just for the sake of novelty,’ he said.
‘I think because of the intimacy of the bathroom space you want to be careful and you want to preserve privacy but at the same time it can be an area where you can enjoy a lot more convenience as well because it is a really important room to people.’