Amazon’s lineup of Alexa-laden Echo Show displays are already quite useful kitchen companions. Still, now the company is adding a key feature to double down on the devices’ ability to help out. Now making it easier than ever to manage your grocery shopping list, Alexa can now scan barcodes of your favorite foods and ingredients. Head below for all of the details on Amazon’s new Alexa barcode scanning feature.
Amazon brings barcode scanning to Alexa
When it comes to having smart home tech around the kitchen, smart displays are already immensely helpful. Whether helping convert between measurements, walk you through recipes, or showcase just how to prepare a meal. The latest Alexa enhancement takes that up a notch and rolls out exclusively for the Echo Show roster of devices.
While the voice assistant is already quite adept at managing shopping lists and the like, Amazon is taking things to the next level by introducing barcode scanning into the mix. Leveraging the Show lineup’s built-in camera, saying “Alexa, scan this to my shopping list,” will now bring up an on-screen prompt to line up the barcode.
That means if you have an Echo Show on your countertops or somewhere else throughout your kitchen, you’ll be able to quickly add the exact item to your shopping cart once it runs out. So the next time you’re out of milk, adding another jug to your list won’t having to mention the size, brand, or other specifics.
An Echo Show exclusive feature
Regardless of if you have the Echo Show 5, Show 8, or second-generation Show, you’ll be able to take advantage of the new functionality. We’ve previously found the Show 5 to be a compelling option in our hands-on review, and the recent news only makes it a more enticing smart home upgrade.
Despite meeting the prerequisites of having a camera and display, we tried to use the barcode scanning feature on the Echo Spot and were unsuccessful.
9to5Toys’ Take
Back when Amazon was still trying to figure out how to best serve Kitchen-centered needs, its Dash Wand and Dash buttons offered a glimpse at Amazon’s new enhancement. Sure those attempts haven’t made much impact on how we all restock on groceries, but both have paved the way for Amazon’s latest feature. For areas where Amazon Fresh is available, I can see the barcode scanning capabilities to be a convenient way to keep your refrigerator or food cabinet replenished. All without having to dig your phone out of your pocket and manually find the item.
Source: VentureBeat
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