Amazon and Brita launch a $45 water pitcher that reorders your filters automatically

Amazon has partnered with Germany-based water-filtration giant Brita to launch a new smart water pitcher.

Above: Brita

As with most products that come with “smart” as part of their branding, the $45 device is Wi-Fi enabled, and it sports a built-in feature to monitor the amount of water that passes through the jug’s filter. When the filter approaches the end of its life — after roughly 40 gallons of water — a new filter arrives courtesy of Amazon’s Dash Replenishment service. It’s basically designed to keep your drinking water fresh and save you from having to remember to replace the filter.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a major driving force behind many emerging products. At the Consumer Electronics Show back in January, Samsung unveiled an eclectic mix of products, such as smart fridges, while at Mobile World Congress last week, a Samsung spin-off company debuted smart shoes. And last week, the major tech companies collaborated on a new IoT-focused standards group aimed at boosting interoperability.

That we now have a smart water jug in our midst should not be overly surprising, especially given that Amazon already offers a similar reordering service for products such as printer ink cartridges. So why not water filters too?

“We saw an opportunity to work with Amazon to make keeping up to date on filter changes effortless for Brita users,” explained Brita’s general manager, Ed Huber. “By integrating Wi-Fi connectivity into this pitcher so it can connect with Amazon Dash Replenishment, we’ve created an elegant, simple solution to eliminate that moment when you realize you didn’t reorder your filter.”

It’s also worth noting here that Brita has been retooling its filter replacement cycle with each new product launch, from purely manual refills to an onboard digital counter that reminds you when to order. These efforts have culminated in this entirely automated system that completely removes the hassle of upgrading the filter. In many ways, the Amazon tie-up is the perfect scenario for Brita.