This was the quiet, second-generation refresh. Photo: Mae Anderson/AP ImagesIn an email, Amazon notified Dash Wand owners that it’s ending support for the device as of July 21. What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of the Dash Wand? Well, that’s hardly surprising.The first iteration of the gadget was introduced back in ye olde days of 2014. It was a lil wand thing with a barcode scanner and microphone, meaning you could scan your groceries or tell the stick to restock up what you were running low on. It got a quiet refresh in 2016. A year later it was renamed Dash Wand and got wifi, Alexa-compatibility, a 90-day trial of Amazon Fresh, and the ability to directly buy items without manually having to check out. A big part of the problem was the Dash Wand was, in a word, stupid. They originally cost $50—or the same price as an Echo Dot. Except you know, the Echo Dot could add items to your cart as well as answer questions, play music, and work as a smart home hub. The wand, meanwhile… was a wand. Amazon eventually tried to give this thing away by lowering the price to $20, and bundling it with a $20 credit for Prime members. Or you know, basically free. It even put the damn thing on sale for under $20. That’s the equivalent of Amazon begging anyone, literally anyone, to take its unloved gadget to free up space in its warehouse and mask the stench of failure.If you have a Dash Wand, after July 21 it will simply cease working. This isn’t the sort of product death where you can still use the gadget, but it won’t get updates or new features. After July 21, the wand will be bereft of all functionality. Dead as a doornail. Literal e-waste garbage taking up space in your drawer, where it was likely collecting dust. Amazon is currently recommending owners to send in their Dash Wands to its recycling program.G/O Media may get a commissionAmazon killed off its Dash Buttons—which also became increasingly ridiculous as time went on—last year. But at least the buttons died because customers had shifted toward subscriptions and digital automatic reordering options. Plus, Amazon assured existing Dash Button users that they could continue using existing buttons until they crapped out. The wand seems more like something Amazon wants to forget ever happened. Not to worry Amazon, after today, everyone will.
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