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Review: Heat Water for Tea From Afar With the iPhone-Connected iKettle 3.0
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I want a HomeKit enabled oatmeal cooker. Dispense just the right amount, add water and cook it. I’ll even automate it to cook at 7AM every day!
It's already almost trivially simple to cook real oatmeal in the microwave. So maybe what you really want is a connected microwave...
tea drinkers...
Smarter's Bluetooth-enabled iKettle has been available for purchase in the UK for years now, but the newest version, iKettle 3.0, recently made its way to the United States.
Priced at $150, the iKettle is a variable temperature kettle that can heat water to a specified temperature from 68°F to 212°F, making it ideal for tea that requires lower temperatures, baby bottles, and other similar applications.
iKettle connects to your WiFi network and communicates with your iPhone, allowing you to heat up water remotely, and it integrates with Alexa and IFTTT if you use those services. With Alexa integration, the iKettle can be controlled via voice if you have an Alexa device, and with IFTTT, it can be programmed to interact with other smart home products.
Design
The iKettle looks like your average kettle, with a stainless steel body that rests on a black base. It's taller than most other kettles that I've used, but not so tall that it doesn't fit comfortably on a counter.
There are no buttons on the iKettle, and aside from a small drop-shaped LED on the side of the body, there are no other markings, for a sleek, simple look.
The base with the heating elements is thicker than the base for my existing kettle, which also contributes to making the iKettle rather tall. The base includes a single button that can be pre-programmed for one set temperature, so you can set water to heat up if your phone isn't nearby, and it has a cord that plugs into the wall. You can wind up a bit of the cord into the base, so excess cord isn't visible.
It's best to program the button on the base to the water temperature that you use most often because aside from that button, there's no way to activate the iKettle without your phone.
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Article Link: Review: Heat Water for Tea From Afar With the iPhone-Connected iKettle 3.0
What happens when your tea kettle decides it's time to overthrow its lazy, spoiled, humanoid overlords?
Honestly, though, people need to stop buying crap like this. Before this century is out, America is going to undergo some degree of societal collapse, and a culture that falls in love with stuff like this will be illustrative of the numerous reasons why.
Honestly, though, people need to stop buying crap like this. Before this century is out, America is going to undergo some degree of societal collapse, and a culture that falls in love with stuff like this will be illustrative of the numerous reasons why.
A logical technological development of the Trojan Room Coffee Pot.
In next week’s news: American Standard introduces the iToilet.
Bluetooth-enabled toilet that allows you to customize and trigger your flush from your phone.
That escalated quickly.
Bluetooth-enabled toilet that allows you to customize and trigger your flush from your phone.
- Select the volume of water to use
- Customize water swirl pattern
- Option to trigger automatic courtesy flush halfway through your workflow
That escalated quickly.
It may seem absurd and “over-connected,” but I see the benefit in this.
For most people, I understand how this can seem pointless, but the perfect tea or the perfect French press all require the right temperature.
At $150 and no HomeKit though, no thanks!
For most people, I understand how this can seem pointless, but the perfect tea or the perfect French press all require the right temperature.
At $150 and no HomeKit though, no thanks!
Do americans even know what a kettle is? I thought you guys still heat up water on the stove like my great grandma?
At least thats how they always do it in them Hollywood movies
At least thats how they always do it in them Hollywood movies
Whoa, I’d need a couple of cups of coffee just to be sentient enough to start that thing up in the morning.
The previous owners of my current house installed some sort of electric hot water dispenser into the kitchen sink area. I just flip a lever and I have hot water from a little dispenser set next to the faucet. I can set the temperature but I’d have to dive under the counter to do so. I just make do with whatever the last owner set it at.
I’m going to check out that Cuisinart one for my sister-in-law, though. Thanks for linking to it. I think the i-Kettle is a bit too techy for her.
The previous owners of my current house installed some sort of electric hot water dispenser into the kitchen sink area. I just flip a lever and I have hot water from a little dispenser set next to the faucet. I can set the temperature but I’d have to dive under the counter to do so. I just make do with whatever the last owner set it at.
I’m going to check out that Cuisinart one for my sister-in-law, though. Thanks for linking to it. I think the i-Kettle is a bit too techy for her.
Whoa, I’d need a couple of cups of coffee just to be sentient enough to start that thing up in the morning.
The previous owners of my current house installed some sort of electric hot water dispenser into the kitchen sink area. I just flip a lever and I have hot water from a little dispenser set next to the faucet. I can set the temperature but I’d have to dive under the counter to do so. I just make do with whatever the last owner set it at.
I’m going to check out that Cuisinart one for my sister-in-law, though. Thanks for linking to it. I think the i-Kettle is a bit too techy for her.
An automatic hot water dispenser sounds amazing. The Cuisinart kettle is nice, and I can definitely recommend it. I've been using it for several years now and it still works as well as it did when I first got it.
Could you not just buy one with a timer for 1/7th of the cost? Seriously programmable kettles are $20 on Amazon.
Speaking as someone who’s owned the iKettle 1, 2 and 3, though I’ve only bought one of them. That being the first one, which lasted six months before dying. Smarter kindly replaced that with an iKettle 2, which lasted two months before dying.
They replaced that again and it lasted four months. Again they sent me another iKettle 2, which lasted a month. There’s a pattern here if you’ not noticed.
Because of all of the problems I’d had they sent me an iKettle 3 before it was released and so far it’s been fine.
I’m definitely cautious on their reliability for obvious reasons. Though I also have the first gen Smarter Coffee and it’s been good so far. But I do like them, in principle, I don’t think I’d recommend them based on my experience with their quality. Maybe I’m just unlucky, but they weren’t even heavily used. No more than a normal kettle anyway.
Maybe I’m lazy, but it’s great being in the office and just telling Siri to switch on the kettle, or to make me coffee and it’s ready for me going downstairs. For that I really do like them.
I know what you’re thinking, they don’t have HomeKit support. Handily though a Raspberry pi and Homebridge gets around that problem really well. Although I don’t think the third generation iKettle works with it yet. I’m back to using a second generation just so I can have it integrated with HomeKit.
They replaced that again and it lasted four months. Again they sent me another iKettle 2, which lasted a month. There’s a pattern here if you’ not noticed.
Because of all of the problems I’d had they sent me an iKettle 3 before it was released and so far it’s been fine.
I’m definitely cautious on their reliability for obvious reasons. Though I also have the first gen Smarter Coffee and it’s been good so far. But I do like them, in principle, I don’t think I’d recommend them based on my experience with their quality. Maybe I’m just unlucky, but they weren’t even heavily used. No more than a normal kettle anyway.
Maybe I’m lazy, but it’s great being in the office and just telling Siri to switch on the kettle, or to make me coffee and it’s ready for me going downstairs. For that I really do like them.
I know what you’re thinking, they don’t have HomeKit support. Handily though a Raspberry pi and Homebridge gets around that problem really well. Although I don’t think the third generation iKettle works with it yet. I’m back to using a second generation just so I can have it integrated with HomeKit.
Sadly I forget that isn't a real word, and Auto correct has learned the poor spelling too.What does this device make express-ly? Espresso?
It is often a one word text and a play on words to check and see if the group is interested in a quick coffee at 5:30am at one of our favorite local coffee Joints in Saint Paul MN.
Expresso (coffee cup Emoji) is the usual text.
The only acceptable responses are Joe, or No.
And yes, my group of friends and I are that weird
.
I think the same thing was said about cars and computers and robots and very other thing someone found useless or felt threatened by.
