Amazon microwave: New Alexa-powered cooker and wall clock revealed

Amazon has released a new microwave and wall clock that connect to the internet.

The company's new Amazon Basics Microwave can be controlled just by talking to it. You can simply say "one potato" to the cooker, for instance, and it will choose the right settings to cook your dinner.

It costs only $59.99 and will be shipping later this year.

And the clock is intended as a way of checking up on timers. It lights up with any timers that you set – and can even change itself when daylight savings time arrives.

The clock is $29.99 and also arrives later this year.

Neither of the two products actually has microphones for speaking to it built-in. Instead, they use Echo devices that Amazon hopes you have in your house, and which can connect to the appliances.

The microwave also has a devoted button for popcorn. It uses Amazon's "dash replacement" service, which means that you can simply press the special button and have new popcorn delivered straight to your door.

Both devices are intended as ways for Amazon to show off the possibilities of the smart home, as controlled through its Echo smart speakers. Launching the products, it said that it hoped third-party companies will create similar products, but that they had been created as ways to show off the possibility of connecting devices to the internet.

They were revealed as part of Amazon's biggest event of the year, during which it showed off a full 70 new products. They included new Echo speakers and a plug meant to make any device smart.