Amazon is letting more products buy stuff on your behalf
The simplest example of this is a connected printer that can purchase more ink or toner on its own. Brother already committed to Amazon’s program in March, and now Samsung says it will support Dash Replenishment Service with its laser printers.
Other new partners include General Electric, whose washers with SmartDispense technology can automatically dispense and re-order more detergent; August, whose smart door locks will order new batteries as they run low; Gmate, a blood glucose meter that will automatically order new testing supplies; and Petnet, a smart pet feeder that knows when to buy more food. So far, there are 15 brands participating in Amazon’s limited beta, with the full list available here.
Dash Replenishment Service is somewhat similar to Amazon’s Dash Button, a $5 physical button that can instantly re-order a household supply of the user’s choosing. The difference is that the replenishment service can be built directly into smart devices to order supplies automatically. (Device makers can also opt to include an ordering button in case they want the process to be a little more manual.)
None of the products using Dash Replenishment Service appear to be available yet. Later this fall, Amazon also plans to open up the program so that any device maker can get on the auto-buy gravy train.
Why this matters: This is all part of Amazon’s plan to turn our homes into finely-tuned machines that practically run themselves, joining efforts like the Alexa voice assistant that lets you order supplies just by asking aloud. There may be a creepy factor to the replenishment service—and we’d be wary of any printer that orders its own ink—but it could still prove useful in households that are constantly on the brink of chaos.