Kohler Adds Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit to its Smart Bathroom Line
Kohler Konnect’s Line of Smart Products; Photo Credit: Kohler
At CES 2019, Kohler announced it was bringing Alexa to another bathroom mirror, a toilet, and several types of faucets. Many of these products featured voice-interaction at CES 2018, however now a select few have partnerships with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. Here is a quick rundown of the products Kohler Konnect offers, and an explanation of those that now have voice assistant access.
- The Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror was announced last year at CES 2018, able to respond to gesture control and a physical remote control. Now, it also has a dual microphone-equipped Alexa speaker. It features voice commands that allow users to dim the lights and use Alexa services. The mirror comes in 3 sizes, and costs between $1,665.00 – $2,165.00 depending on the size.
- Initially announced at CES 2018, the Kohler DTV+ Shower System can respond to gesture and remote controls in order to adjust the water temperature as well as begin and end a shower. Announced at CES 2019, voice commands can be used to begin and stop the faucet, and even adjust fill level of the PerfectFill bathtub. Both of these products enable voice interaction and were created without the need for a big-name voice assistant. The voice interaction is deployed natively in the products and users are able to simply say “Set my shower to 105 degrees,” or “Start the bath” without needing to send the command through Google Assistant or Alexa. The PerfectFill bathtub is not yet available, but Kohler states the List Price target is $1500.
- The Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet by Kohler offers Alexa integration as of CES 2019, with voice commands that control flushing and general Alexa services.
- Sensate Touchless Kitchen Faucet by Kohler allows users to turn off and on the water or dispense water to a measured amount with voice commands, and also now supports Alexa, Google Assistant, and the Apple HomeKit.
- The Kohler Veil Lighted Bathroom Collection features bathroom lighting that can be controlled by voice commands. Everything from the ‘Intelligent Toilet’ to the PerfectFill bathtub is outfitted with lighting that is connected. Users are able to control the lighting setting with motion gestures, a physical remote controller, and voice commands. Users now have the ability to use this connected lighting feature with either Alexa or Google Assistant, too.
To manage all of these products, Kohler created the Kohler Konnect app, which allows users to connect all of their Kohler smart bathroom devices and voice services in one place. Kohler also launched the Kohler Cloud, which is hosted on Microsoft Azure, in order to support products on the back-end.
Partnerships With Multiple Voice Assistants in the Bathroom is New
While these products may not be new, their voice assistant connections are. The Alexa-enabled model of the Sensate Touchless Kitchen Faucet was actually previewed at CES last year, however, details were very sparse. With the demonstration at this year’s CES, we have gained much more insight into the product. A release window for the Sensate Touchless Kitchen Faucet was announced as well, Engadget reports that window is Q1 of 2019.
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