New Amazon Gadget: Alexa Now Checks Air Quality For You

With the Smart Air Quality Monitor, Amazon has added another smart home gadget to its Alexa lineup that is capable of informing users about the air quality in their homes. This means that rooms can be specifically ventilated or an air purifier can be added.

As Amazon points out in its press release, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), various air pollutants are two to five times more prevalent indoors than outdoors. For this reason, the new Smart Air Quality Monitor measures a total of five factors to analyze indoor air quality – particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), temperature, humidity, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). If the measured air quality changes for the worse, users are notified with the help of the Alexa app.

Airing and cleaning on Alexa announcement. The goal is for users to determine the right time to open a window or activate optional air purifiers. Integrated into the home network and Amazon ecosystem, the status of air quality can also be called up via compatible Echo speakers and smart displays such as the Echo Show. This is already familiar with products such as Netatmo and Eve meters. Compared to these, however, the advantage of the Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor is its price.

The online retailer plans to sell its smart home device with connectivity to the Alexa voice assistant in Germany starting December 8 at a price of 79.99 euros. Pre-orders are already being accepted. The well-known competitors, such as the Eve Room or the Netatmo room air sensor, however, cost at least 90 euros and are also primarily limited to the Apple HomeKit ecosystem. Models from Bosch also quickly exceed the 100 euro mark.