Swan’s Amazon Smart Kettle is not the first smart kettle created, but it is the only one created expressly to function with your Alexa smart speaker without any issues. You may set a reminder for it to heat up the water for your morning cup of tea, or you can use voice commands to get the water boiling.
But is it really any smarter than what a kettle has to be? And if so, would you make use of them or go back to using a manual kettle to boil water? Lets test it out to see what happens.
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Design and presentation
- Controls for LED touch panels
- max volume of 1.5 litres, min volume of 0.5 litres
- cordless, insulated inside, and boil-dry protection
The Swan Alexa kettle is a good-looking gadget, which you’ll especially love if your kitchen is modern or minimalist. That’s the first thing to say about it.
Apart for a subdued pairing of the Swan and Alexa emblems near its base, it is totally unmarked. It is glossy and black with an angular handle.
But when you turn it on, the white LED touch panel starts to light up, and that changes. An On/Off key is the first thing you’ll notice. The SET key will appear once you press it. The goal water heating temperature may be selected with this, and it is visible at the top.
After everything is set up, you’ll also notice a Wi-Fi icon that indicates the kettle is connected.
The kettle has a 16 cm in diameter spherical base that tapers to a height of around 27 cm. The base is where the cable is hooked, making the kettle cordless for pouring.
It states a minimum capacity, which is rare, and has a maximum capacity of 1.5 litres (around 8 to 10 cups). Never turn it on with less than 0.5 litres of fuel. That’s almost two large cups of tea or coffee, so if you only want to brew one drink, it would be a waste of power.
Although many kettles have 3000W, this one only has 1800W. I filled it, connected it to a smart socket for energy monitoring, and Then boiled it to 100 degrees. That was projected to cost about 4p on my existing tariff.
The price of boiling a full kettle is estimated in the Hugo Energy App for January 2023. The Swan Alexa Smart Kettle appears to be effective as it places it at 6.8p.
The efficient use of energy must be a result of the kettle’s outstanding design. Its outside stays cool to the touch thanks to its two walls and strong stainless steel inside. Also, there isn’t a heating element that would stick out into the water, which is excellent news for anyone who lives in a region with hard water. Scaling will be much simpler to remove.
But, if you’re a lone resident or frequently only boil enough water for one person, the minimal fill level can wind up costing you. Also, using the smart functions when it’s in standby mode may take some power, albeit it will be insignificant compared to your overall bill.
Nevertheless, using the “keep warm” mode, which will periodically reboil the kettle over the course of two hours, might result in this kettle being expensive to run. If you decide to purchase, we suggest turning this off.
Speaking of descaling, you can check how many times you can boil the kettle before you need to descale it using the Alexa app. You’ll get about 500 uses out of it, however if you live in a region with hard water, you could need to clean it sooner.
This kettle does not have a water level observation glass, which is due to the insulated inside. Others could have missed it, but I didn’t.
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the kettle being used
- Kettle controls by app.
- six water temperatures are available.
-quick, silent boil
The less technically savvy members of the household don’t have to utilise any of the smart features if they don’t want to, even if one of you adores all the newest technology and the other simply wants a cup of coffee – and promptly. They may start the kettle by turning it on as usual.
or at least almost. This kettle does everything a specialty tea kettle does, which is one of its wonderful features.
Hence, rather than only having one heating setting (boil it to death), you now have a choice of six temperatures, each of which is perfect for a certain drink:
-Fully boiled at 100 °C
-Coffee at 90°C
-85°C tea
-Green tea at 80 °C
-honey, 60 °C
-Warm water at 40 °C
It is also simple to use. To set the desired temperature, just press the SET key until it appears on the display rather than flipping the switch. On the side of the kettle, it will state BOILING and the temperature will flash. The end of that. It would be impossible for even the most ardent anti-technologist to claim that it is more complicated than a standard kettle.
The kettle boils fast and without a lot of noise. Although you can also notice in-app if the water level is too low, it features a boil dry safety function.
As it boils, it alerts you with a double beep, which is one feature I could have done without. Another obnoxious beeping device is the last thing my apartment needs. The single beep that signals when you have successfully turned it on from a distance is still considerably more useful.
Activating Alexa’s smart features
- Alexa smart speakers are required for linked functions.
- Setting up an in-app QR code
- Wi-Fi setup might be difficult.
Making a cup of tea is the one thing in life that is truly straightforward, so you might find the thought of a smart kettle repulsive.
But if you already have an Alexa smart speaker in use, setting it up is straightforward. If not, you’ll need to address that before using the kettle’s functions fully.
This approach won’t surprise you if you’ve ever linked anything to your smart home network. Wi-Fi onboarding may be difficult; although sometimes it can quickly connect to your network, other times, and for no apparent reason, it can’t.
The Swan Alexa Smart Kettle may be connected using one of two methods. The first and simplest option is to scan the QR code on the side-mounted label. If this doesn’t work or if you’ve already taken it off and thrown it away, you can use the Alexa app’s instructions.
In our test, the QR code didn’t function, so we had to go through the more involved setup procedure. I had to make three attempts to connect, which was a little stressful. But, once it was operational, I experienced no more connection issues.
You may take a few steps to make life simpler for yourself. Bring the kettle to a location in your house with a reliable Wi-Fi signal. After you’ve got everything set up, you won’t need to leave it there. Make sure you are familiar with your Wi-Fi network’s name, password, and security type (WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc.) so you can put it in as necessary.
Using Alexa’s features
- voice orders
- Routines and scheduling
- Activate the programme and modify its settings
Once everything is set up, you can use the Alexa app to access the smart features. Voice instructions, scheduling, and monitoring the kettle’s settings are the three primary categories.
The kettle may be found under devices when you open the Alexa app. You may activate it, check its settings, and make changes from there. However, the Alexa app wouldn’t allow me choose it as a favourite device, so I had to browse through another page to get there.
Pricing and accessibility
Swan’s Alexa Smart Kettle is clearly not cheap, with pricing starting at roughly £15 and quality kettles going for $25.
Yet, the cost is reasonable. For instance, the Smeg 1.7-liter jug kettle costs about £150. And there isn’t even an option for the water’s temperature there. It simply has a lovely appearance.
Nevertheless, if all you need is a variable temperature kettle, models like the Bosch Styline start at about £60.
But, you can get the Swan Alexa Kettle directly from Swan or from Amazon in the UK if you also want the smart capabilities. The US does not currently have access to it.
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