Honestly, I see internet connectivity as a negative with most appliances. As a technologically literate programmer I'm aware of all the extra points of failure of "smart" products and I usually make a conscious effort to avoid them if I can. There's too many horror-stories of devices bricked by updates and devices that lose functionality or stop working entirely because the company stops maintaining their software. In fact: those scenarios seem more likely than updates actually improving functionality, because most companies lock such updates behind newer models, expecting you to buy a new model to get access.
Yup. Their expertise is heating a box not computer security not self hosting and apparently not pid tuning. There is 0 incentive to upgrade the software in their gen 1 device to make it perform like their gen 3 device. .02 if it needs to phone home, if it requires an app, if it requires a subscription... 0 dollars for you.
Thanks for saving me $500 lol. Had a Bravetti Rotisserie oven for 10 years, an absolute beast. But the old guy is tired and wearing down. I loved the large capacity and versatility with element control (top and bottom), plus convection. Never going back to full size oven at home. Ninja XL Pro looks like a winner.
In that matter are you able to set the temperature as hight as you want ? without any restriction of the reheat mode ? (i'm planning to get the ninja also)
Fantastic job with this series, it's raised my level of thought about my own appliances a little bit, like how they work and what I want/need them to do. I really enjoy how you present the science and real-world cooking pros and cons of these devices and communicate your vision of what truly 'smart' kitchen tech is/ought to be.
I really like that you didn't just pick a 'best' oven, but fully explained what each one brought to the table. As advanced as the June oven is, the ninja actually fits my needs (and, more importantly, my little apartment kitchen) best. I have an immersion circulator for precision work, and my main oven for baking (which generally requires at least one half-sheet pan anyway); the ninja would let me get rid of the air fryer, while also being able to use two racks even in a smaller job. My needs will probably change in the future, but for now, it's what makes the most sense for me.
Agree, ummm, I think most of us like, ummm, ALREADY HAVE AN OVEN! So we're all set for baking and roasting. It's the other stuff we need to do, like air frying without those awful plastic containers, and I sure could use a dehydrator, and a whole bunch of other functions. Does it prove bread? And it's only 199 at Walmart.
This channel is sublime. It is beyond delightful to be able to learn from one the best (if not the best) in the technical aspects of cooking. You always back up the things you say with facts and easy to follow animated or real demonstrations. Combine that with well-produced videos and a soothing voice and you can easily binge watch this channel and feel quite a bit smarter after. 🥰
I've owned the Ninja XL for just over a year. I can not recommend it. All reviews I see for this oven are not from daily use long term. I loved the size of the oven. It worked well when it worked although it does not heat as evenly as advertised. The problem is just after a year it no longer functions which is crazy for the $300 price tag. 1 year of use caused a malfunctioning fan that started as a strange noise and became just not working. Past the warranty there are no parts to buy to fix it and no repair option from Ninja. Very disappointing. Now I'm researching for a replacement air fry oven as its something I use all the time, this didn't last as long as my much cheaper Cuisinart.
So, it turns out that *eventually* the surface temp and oven temp become the same with 100% humidity, but it takes quite a while. Even inside a sous vide bag the surface temp is lower than the bath temp for a long time-this is why you can actually speed sous vide by raising the bath temp a couple degrees and not overcook things. Getting into the science of all this, plus looking at all the features of the Anova is just a big job. Adding it to this review would have been like including a Ferrari in a series on reasonable mid-sized cars.
I own both the Breville Joule and the Anova Precision Oven. The Joule purchase was a mistake - the Anova beats it in every way for all kinds of cooking. The Anova does have a bigger footprint, and whoever decided to put touch controls on the handle should be fired. But this was a great series of videos and it achieved its intended goal: I ended up purchasing the Combustion thermometer!
@@BillAckerman Hm- i came to this review because of the Anova Precision oven. It was always on the top spot of my shopping list- but I just watched a video of American test kitchen where it totally lost. @chrisyoung over to you… please test!
Wow, what a thoughtful, unbiased, and well presented review. I have not seen your channel before but this checked every box for me. Great comparison. Liked & subscribed!
Legitimately the best cooking-related creator on YT for practical, useful and well produced content. This and Neil are all a me chef needs. Well, kick in some Jacques P vids too there.
New watcher here 👋🏾. I can honestly say this is the best review video of any product I have ever seen. I got a good laugh out of “despite its fairly awful name..” when talking about the ninja 😂
Do not buy the June oven. It breaks every 2 years. We’ve gone through 3 replacement and now they are asking us to pay $450 w/ a 60 day warranty. Stay away from June.
Outstanding analytical approach to the reviews... you hit the top points logically and very clearly. Your charts also told the story well. One small suggestion... would you consider adding a matrix chart for which oven cooks particular foods the best and benchmark them against a standard oven. Obviously, you landed well about french fries with the Ninja... but how does bacon, cookies, frozen pizza, fresh pizza and other foods stack up. I have accepted I will bake in a standard oven and use a counter top oven for everything else from fries, chicken wings, fish, etc. Again... one of the best series of reviews on any topic I've seen... thank you!
Your detailed use of each oven was great. I love Breville products, but I own and use the Ninja oven. It is used more than my stove oven weekly and comes in very handy for extra dishes on holidays.
Chris, when it comes to trusted, tested, and knowledgeable opinions on electronics in the kitchen, you are THE MAN! I mean, having six Joule's, I know you know what the hell you're talking about! The one thing I have to disagree with you on is the Breville customer service. Without going into too much detail, I was VERY disappointed (and angry) that an expensive Breville juicer lasted only 3 weeks past it's one-year warranty. The experience with their customer service was not exactly stellar. Long story short, after sending back to them the now defunct juicer, they sent to me a new juicer....problem solved. Except it conked out a couple of months later. So I'm not keen at all about Breville and gun-shy about making a major purchase from them ever again. I appreciate the reviews on the ovens! You're the best!
I am also disappointed with Breville's customer service. Not only did I have issue with ordering one of their PolyScience items (never sent the shipping email) but also currently attempting to get support for my Joule unit and support sent the wrong part and have been silent for over 2 weeks and no one answering their phones. So I agree with you on future purchases. I will not look at Breville for future appliances based on my interactions with them no matter how good they review.
I had a Breville smart oven and something that needs to be communicated is that their electronics are temperamental and fail often! We loved our oven until we started getting error messages, when I reviewed my manual it stated to shut off unplug and contact service immediately. After researching this I found that it is very common issue with them as many others had the same and yes it failed like 4 months after the warranty...funny how this seems to work out?
Love your unbiased product review which help me to make the informative decision. Thank you, Chris. Please continue to make this type of the video content.
Great series, Chris! Four more reasons why you do the best and most informative reviews of cooking tools. I learn so much with each review. But per Lee's post below, do you know what's up with June having no ovens for sale, with no mention on their website about a reason or when a restock might happen. Being the most technically advanced of the ovens, I suppose supply chain issues with getting needed parts could be why.
Very interesting series Chris. I see the wall outlet as the biggest drawback by limiting power. I'm more interested in Steam Ovens and look forward to you testing them.
Thank you. These are the most honest and objective reviews I have watched about these products. The Ninja is the perfect size for my kitchen but as I bake much more than I oil cook this is perhaps less suitable for my needs and the other products don't seem to match either.
FINALLY -- someone giving an opinion review ACTUALLY gives their opinion!!! Outstanding!! You've done what every other UA-camr afraid of missing out on sponsor revenue (which they'll never get anyway) fails to do -- give an opinion and make a personal decision. That's why we watch these videos. The "well... it really depends on what YOU need" endings make me take note and ignore those channels. I've enjoyed this series -- your highlights, pros/cons, and information are well organized, well scripted, and the technical delivery (presentation, camera, lighting, editing, animations, etc.) are all very nice. Kudos! Shoot -- they were so well done I didn't even mind the self-promotion in the videos (well positioned and it didn't seem like you made the video as an excuse to promote a product you've created). THANK YOU for delivering.
Oven aside for a moment, I have to commend you on the review itself. Concise yet thorough and completely reasonable and considerate of different requirements for different applications. Bravo.
Would love an update now that June is no longer making ovens and many, including myself, have a Gen2 oven that can't receive updates after factory reset and the oven no longer works.
It's really interesting to me how well engineered both of the Ninja products you've reviewed are given that it's more of a budget brand. Definitely some great staff they've got.
Fantastic series; I personally would keep the Ninja too. Considering that the June uses cameras, I wonder if temperature control behaves differently with food in the oven. The industry needs more independent testing, keep up the good work!
Hey Chef, glad to have found your channel. I remembered you from In search of perfection! The steak overcooking incident. The look Heston gave scared the life out of me, I'll always remember that. Glad to see you're doing well and have your own channel! (:
Do you have thoughts on the Anova Precision Oven? I’m curious how moisture and the thermometer impact your perception (but recognize the conflict of interest with the probe function, too). How do steam/combi functions review out in your opinion?
i was most shocked they couldnt reach the stated 500 degrees temperature with 2 falling far short. clearly it has to do with insulation and heat loss since you said the outside of the ovens were hot to the touch. Missing a temperature claim in an empty oven is straight up deception.
A great presentation. June is quite impressive. I am inclined towards getting the Anova Precision for its sous vide and steam feature. Good to know that you plan to make a video on it. BTW, I am happy customer of the Predictive Meat Themometer. I am surprised, I have not seen BBQ channels toying with it yet.
I would be interested on reviews of built in ovens from leading manufacturers always comparing the top model gaggenau/wolf/miele/samsung/aeg/bosch/siemens and others
I often wonder why there isn't an oven that just lets us manually control the elements and fan speed. It's annoying that you have to learn what each "feature" actually does and then try to remember that. Same applies to everything like instant pots, too. Keep all the buttons for the normal user for sure, but throw us a bone.
Interesting videos, thank you. I kind of want a June Oven, but the company appears not to be selling them anymore and hasn't for months as far as I can tell, that's out. In the end, I kind of just want a good oven that can reach and hold high temps and that has a decent fan (that I can turn off). That doesn't seem to be available.
This is a fantastic series! I'm quite nerdy about kitchen gear and learned so much from your videos. I think there are several other interesting questions worth discussing in today's smart oven world: - What's the benefit of water in baking & air frying? Many steam ovens have a "steam bake/roast/broil" mode which uses steam and heating elements simultaneously. The recent Dreo Chefmaker air fryer simply sprays water on the food surface during cooking. Does it really make a difference, in terms of the evenness of temperature on the surface or the moisture inside the food? - Similar to Element IQ, Dreo Chefmaker claims to have cooking programs that divide cooking into several stages - achieving doneness, pre-sear, sear, etc. It sounds like a significant step up compared to traditional air fryers' static presets. Do you think a complex program actually helps with cooking things like steaks?
I haven't seen a more informative assessment of smart ovens as this group. My only wish is that you had added a comparison of the Brava oven. Well done and thank you
Thank you. As someone in the hardware business myself, I would say there is no way to know the reliability statistics without access to the company's warranty claims data. But I also know that if it were over 1% during the warranty period, it would be a major problem and any reasonable manufacturer would be moving quickly to fix the problem. Personally, with these being experienced manufacturing companies, I would guess the manufacturing defect rate is below 0.25%.
Suggestion for a new video. I have an Anova Precision oven, I'd really appreciate a review, or suggestions on when to use steam and at what settings, maybe a good chance to talk about the science of steam ovens.
Hey Chris, I really enjoyed your video very much, you answered cooking myths in very scientific way. I was wondering what are your thoughts on steam ovens for home cooking?
Hi Chris, did you examine the temperature differences in the 3D space inside the oven? In other words, the uniformity of the temperature distribution? Maximizing the circulating air flow will smooth out the temps in the oven. I get a kick out of you trying to explain fairly complex heat transfer topics to a general audience. A couple of episodes back you actually mentioned forced convection (and neglected free convection). But it *is* a rabbit hole. You need to explain laminar and turbulent flow, boundary layers, etc. Good job balancing the technical with the practical.
EXCELLENT VIDEO Thank You for sharing this This video is over a Year old Do you have any updates on these products? I do agree with your choice... but thought you might have an up date. Thank you again for this GREAT Video.
You are supposed to leave between 8" 20cm to 12" 30cm air gap clearance above the ovens for heat safety. So the taller ovens like the Ninja cannot be used under a standard height wall cupboard. Therefore the lower wider ovens are the only option for a kitchen when the oven is to be placed under a wall cupboard.
This is from the Ninja manual: “When using this oven, provide adequate space (at least 1” above and on all sides) for air circulation.” Considering its height is 13.34 inches and standard cabinet height starts at 18-20 inches above the counter, this is perfectly safe to place on the counter underneath cabinets. It’s all good 👍🏻
i expected a more blatant 'punchline' around the best 'smart oven' being any basic model, paired with your thermometer. seems like you're crediting the audience for being smart enough to connect the dots :)
Seriously. I felt respected watching this. I can only imagine what being able to integrate some of these ovens' functionality with the combustion thermometer would produce, and I think the fact that the thought's occurred to me at all is the best marketing anyone could do! Great video series regardless, it's got me thinking about my own appliances and how they work, and what I actually need at home.
Yeah, exactly, I think that's the point: what makes a smart oven? Knowing when to take your food out! Hence: predictive thermometer and "any oven you already own". 🤣
Yeah, and my crystal ball says this call is about to happen or has happened: Breville Product Manager: Hi Chris, lovely series, great job comparing them. But we need to talk about integrating your thermometer with our ecosystem. Was thinking that since they both connect to smartphone apps and the cloud, we could rev the software (cloud + apps) to provide optional integration between the two for owners who have both. That way our autopilot can dynamically adapt based on the actual temperatures from your probe. If you cut us a good deal, we might even offer it as a special bundled set. ...
Internet connectivity has also the chance to brick an appliance when the vendor decides it wants to move on. Being a software engineer I am not buying a smart appliance. If my smart thermometer bricks that is one thing but if my oven ($900) bricks it is a different story. I bought the Meat-It thermometer and it is a piece of junk - hard to pair, uses batteries to charge and does not show the correct temperature.
Interesting reviews. I find it interesting that both Consumer Reports and America's Test Kitchen love the Breville and it always comes out on top in both of their reviews. Of course, they're rating an overall usage--including toasting bread and roasting meat in addition to the air-frying function. As you said, all households are a bit different, and for me, if I make this investment, I'd want to ditch my regular toaster as well as obviate the need for an air fryer, and I don't really need my countertop oven to be leagues smarter than my range oven, so maybe the Breville is best for me. Thanks for all of your insights.
another super good review.........why no Anova precision oven review ? Conflict of interest b/c your immersion circulator , or b/c its more a smart steam /combi oven. I'd go for the Ninja and figure out the stop fan hack, based on your 4 reviews, not merely due to price point, but the semi integrated if not highly accurate temp probe, the very good convection heat/fan footprint and height pros......and to be less wed to my freaking phone. I have the Anova and its neato but too app centric/ for me. Needs some "analog" controls.
What an outstanding comparison! Wow! After reading reviews on the Ninja I gotta make note of the non-stainless tendency to rust so one should only consider the stainless version. I honestly don't know why they don't offer only a stainless steel. Still a difficult decision. I bake a lot so the Ninja is questionable. I have an old black & decker junky oven and it sucks. I've had it 12 years. The timer quit working over 25 minutes after about 2 months. Lots to think about. I have a limited income so I have to get this right!
I have had for 20 years a large Sharp carousel convection /microwave. It’s large enough for cooking large turkeys or small game hens perfect. I can bake cakes or anything. Can nuke cup of coffee. Can blend the 2 settings to work together. Cost 500 to 700.. Also bought 7 years ago a cheaper Cuisinart micro /convection oven for 250. Little smaller but keeps up with this Sharp. Would recommend both.
Great series and video. Would like to offer one bit of constructive criticism though, when discussing temps, it would be great to have the celcius on the screen too. Doesn't need to be part of the script, but as someone not living in North America, I have no real concept of what a temperature difference of 20F means.
I bought the Ninja 10 in 1 last week ($229.00) & so far so good. It took a couple of tries to get the toast to the way I like it, baked some peanut butter cookies that came out wonderfully. I'm going to do a meat loaf & baked potatoes tomorrow. The real test will be a whole baked chicken. If it bakes up with crispy skin & still moist inside, then it will have been worth it. My only worry is the reports by many who say it is a pain in the tush to keep clean.
These ovens have sensors they react to, making them "smart", but part of their appeal is also the additional control of cooking they provide with such features as controllable fans and hearing elements. Some users may also want to consider more advanced ovens that do not offer sensors but do offer other abilities and controls. For example, the recently released Ooni Volt 12 electric countertop oven. Designed primarily as a pizza oven, it offers less height and versatility than the ovens in this video. But it does offer a knob of full adjustability for distributing heat between the top or bottom heating element, is certified for outdoor use, and by being super-insulated is the first indoor electric oven to claim to reach 850°F (450° C) on a standard US outlet (120V), using 1600 watts of power and being cool to the touch. It can't tell you when your food is done, but I can see someone who is into pizza-making or other high-temperature cooking choosing between a smart conventional oven or a more specialized pizza oven, which of course you can cook other foods in. So high-end non-smart consumer ovens are getting more sophisticated and offering more electronic controls. Like the Anova countertop steam oven, they're beyond the scope of this series on countertop smart ovens, but I think it's worth mentioning that temperature sensors, cameras, and convection aren't the only technologies improving and changing the experience of oven cooking, which otherwise hasn't substantially changed in many decades. There was a change from from traditional fuel-burning ovens to temperature controlled gas and electric ovens. And the experience has basically not changed until very recently. Set a temperature and bake. The biggest addition since was probably an integrated timer, which isn't much. But in the last decade, we now have substantially different home ovens offering more control performance with technologies such as convection, smart sensors, adjustable heating elements, and lower minimum and higher maximum temperates. Thank you for this series. I might upgrade my toaster oven within the next few years and I will now be looking for convection and seriously considering smart oven features. Perhaps the next-gen Ninja will be smart enough for the fan to have an on-off switch. I subscribed to you immediately after watching my first video with you reviewing the Ninja CREAMi. I didn't know who you were when I started watching, but by the end I'd subscribed. This content is excellent. I now know what smart ovens are, why they're desirable, and the state of the market for countertop versions. I learned all this from your video series, having very little prior knowledge of smart ovens. I will continue to follow your channel, and when I'm ready to replace it upgrade my thermometer yours will be at the top of my list when shopping for a new one. If my budget allowed it, I'd have already bought it after seeing it in use in this series. Easier, faster, more accurate, and more versatile. It's been years since I took a look at the state of the market (I use a Lavatools Javelin but would appreciate a longer probe), but last I checked all the instant-read thermometers just took the temperature at the tip, and you've introduced me to a superior thermometer design.
I enjoyed this series, and I watched it for your approach to these types of reviews and was why I subscribed to you after seeing your Hexclad video. However I have a gripe with any app based appliance, which is support. And I don't mean the 1 year warranty or whatever they happen to come with, I mean app and server support. I don't want to own a product that can be so quickly and easily disabled because of a myriad of reasons. From the company deciding to sunset that model you own and stop updating or completely removing from their servers, to the company going out of business or being bought out and eliminated. There's too many ?????s with IOT devices. What I'm saying is, if I were inclined to buy any of these, It'd be the Ninja hands down. But given I have a good convection oven that can go fanless, and good probe thermometers, and the room to support that, I think I'll stick it out without a smart oven.
I value your reviews. Would love to see you examine the Nuwave iQ360 Digital Smart Convection Infrared oven. Doesn't have the reputation of more established brands but seems to offer a lot. Is the value there? Thanks.
This was an excellent review. Thank you! You should compare the June oven with The Brava Glass oven. This should be interesting, as I feel that these are closer in features and function 🤔 I would love to hear your chef/scientific analysis. If considered, thank you in advance!
Hi Chris! Following your channel and looking forward to buying the Combustion soon from Australia! Can you please review the Dreo Chefmaker Air-Fryer that is somewhat relevant to this category?
How about the Cuisinart "Air Fryer Toaster Ovens". There are various iterations are around, with different control panels. Its sold at Costco and popular. My issue has been the large diameter ceiling mounted fan has to run at low speed even when not in convection mode, like the Ninja as you pointed out. Aside from the baking issues mentioned, this dries out toast. I think this is likely to keep the top mounted control panel cool so it doesn't fail. It's nice that the Ninja isn't too wide, but width-reducing top mounted control panels need a separate fan to cool the electronics, to avoid the oven interior fan running at all times. That adds cost and complexity, which Ninja and Cuisinart have avoided. I've also got a Panasonic NB-G110P, that is popular in Japan. It excels at toasting, getting the exterior crispy without drying out the inside, using an infrared bulb that reaches full output almost instantly. The overhead clearance is extremely low though, a croissant puts it at its limit. It does produce consistent results that avoid burning the top though, since the digital control's algorithm modulates the bulb and elements fairly precisely. An amazing toaster disguised as an oven, and worth a look if that is your focus.
All June ovens appear to be sold out on their site. There are also online grumblings that Weber's acquisition of June may be putting the kibosh on future June ovens. Do you have any more info on this? Fingers crossed that June stays in the game. They seem to be the ones leading smart oven innovation and build quality.
![Best Air Fryer Toaster Ovens 2024 [don’t buy one before watching this]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sKT4lB3CPqE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Best Air Fryer Toaster Ovens 2024 [don’t buy one before watching this]](/img/tr.png)
Honestly, I see internet connectivity as a negative with most appliances. As a technologically literate programmer I'm aware of all the extra points of failure of "smart" products and I usually make a conscious effort to avoid them if I can. There's too many horror-stories of devices bricked by updates and devices that lose functionality or stop working entirely because the company stops maintaining their software. In fact: those scenarios seem more likely than updates actually improving functionality, because most companies lock such updates behind newer models, expecting you to buy a new model to get access.
Yup. Their expertise is heating a box not computer security not self hosting and apparently not pid tuning. There is 0 incentive to upgrade the software in their gen 1 device to make it perform like their gen 3 device.
.02 if it needs to phone home, if it requires an app, if it requires a subscription... 0 dollars for you.
Pro tip on the Ninja: if you want to run it without the convection fan just set the mode to reheat. Only the top and bottom elements will heat up.
Thanks for saving me $500 lol. Had a Bravetti Rotisserie oven for 10 years, an absolute beast. But the old guy is tired and wearing down. I loved the large capacity and versatility with element control (top and bottom), plus convection. Never going back to full size oven at home. Ninja XL Pro looks like a winner.
In that matter are you able to set the temperature as hight as you want ? without any restriction of the reheat mode ? (i'm planning to get the ninja also)
This is a game changer for me! Reheat is actually a regular bake mode (no fan) .Bake should be renamed aero bake !
Thank you- the Ninja is still a bit outside of my budget but doable, so I like that there is a work around for the baking issue!
@@JeninBelgiumAmazon has a monthly payment with no interest plan. Only the Amazon plan!
I haven’t been this emotionally invested in my specific device being perceived as best-in-class since my childhood console wars.
the best in class would be the anova combi oven
I felt this.
lol
but can your Smart Oven run Crysis?
Right. I’m here for this
Fantastic job with this series, it's raised my level of thought about my own appliances a little bit, like how they work and what I want/need them to do. I really enjoy how you present the science and real-world cooking pros and cons of these devices and communicate your vision of what truly 'smart' kitchen tech is/ought to be.
I really like that you didn't just pick a 'best' oven, but fully explained what each one brought to the table. As advanced as the June oven is, the ninja actually fits my needs (and, more importantly, my little apartment kitchen) best. I have an immersion circulator for precision work, and my main oven for baking (which generally requires at least one half-sheet pan anyway); the ninja would let me get rid of the air fryer, while also being able to use two racks even in a smaller job. My needs will probably change in the future, but for now, it's what makes the most sense for me.
im getting a ninja for my campervan fo shore. It looks amazeballs!
Agree, ummm, I think most of us like, ummm, ALREADY HAVE AN OVEN! So we're all set for baking and roasting. It's the other stuff we need to do, like air frying without those awful plastic containers, and I sure could use a dehydrator, and a whole bunch of other functions. Does it prove bread? And it's only 199 at Walmart.
@@cchoi108i actually want one for roasting!
Thank you for your work, I have already owned the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro since 2021. I use it every single day and it does a wonderful job.
This channel is one of the best in food science and cooking tech. I wish he made more vids.
🙏Working on it.
Great job man!! This is hands down the best appliance review channel!
This channel is sublime. It is beyond delightful to be able to learn from one the best (if not the best) in the technical aspects of cooking. You always back up the things you say with facts and easy to follow animated or real demonstrations. Combine that with well-produced videos and a soothing voice and you can easily binge watch this channel and feel quite a bit smarter after. 🥰
I've owned the Ninja XL for just over a year. I can not recommend it. All reviews I see for this oven are not from daily use long term. I loved the size of the oven. It worked well when it worked although it does not heat as evenly as advertised. The problem is just after a year it no longer functions which is crazy for the $300 price tag. 1 year of use caused a malfunctioning fan that started as a strange noise and became just not working. Past the warranty there are no parts to buy to fix it and no repair option from Ninja. Very disappointing. Now I'm researching for a replacement air fry oven as its something I use all the time, this didn't last as long as my much cheaper Cuisinart.
Finally a good review which is actually a review doesn't read only the spec, or be just an advertisement or has some generic voiceover.
BEST reviews on cooking appliances I've encountered. Subscribed!!
This chanel is highly underrated! i absoluely enjoy the in debth tech talk .. thank you very much!
Such a clean series of reviews
plus I love that thumbnail hahaha
This was the most unbiased in depth and great air fryer review ive ever watch. Great work, also your kitchen is absolutely beautiful.
I'm surprised the anova combi oven wasn't included. With 100% humidity, wouldn't the temp around food surface actually be the oven temp?
I asked about this in the previous episode - it's considered different enough to be reviewed separately
So, it turns out that *eventually* the surface temp and oven temp become the same with 100% humidity, but it takes quite a while. Even inside a sous vide bag the surface temp is lower than the bath temp for a long time-this is why you can actually speed sous vide by raising the bath temp a couple degrees and not overcook things. Getting into the science of all this, plus looking at all the features of the Anova is just a big job. Adding it to this review would have been like including a Ferrari in a series on reasonable mid-sized cars.
I own both the Breville Joule and the Anova Precision Oven. The Joule purchase was a mistake - the Anova beats it in every way for all kinds of cooking. The Anova does have a bigger footprint, and whoever decided to put touch controls on the handle should be fired. But this was a great series of videos and it achieved its intended goal: I ended up purchasing the Combustion thermometer!
@@BillAckerman I predict you will be very happy. I have the APO and the Combustion Predictive Thermometer - a match made in heaven.
@@BillAckerman
Hm- i came to this review because of the Anova Precision oven. It was always on the top spot of my shopping list- but I just watched a video of American test kitchen where it totally lost. @chrisyoung over to you… please test!
Wow, what a thoughtful, unbiased, and well presented review. I have not seen your channel before but this checked every box for me. Great comparison. Liked & subscribed!
Legitimately the best cooking-related creator on YT for practical, useful and well produced content. This and Neil are all a me chef needs. Well, kick in some Jacques P vids too there.
New watcher here 👋🏾. I can honestly say this is the best review video of any product I have ever seen.
I got a good laugh out of “despite its fairly awful name..” when talking about the ninja 😂
Do not buy the June oven. It breaks every 2 years. We’ve gone through 3 replacement and now they are asking us to pay $450 w/ a 60 day warranty. Stay away from June.
Outstanding analytical approach to the reviews... you hit the top points logically and very clearly. Your charts also told the story well. One small suggestion... would you consider adding a matrix chart for which oven cooks particular foods the best and benchmark them against a standard oven. Obviously, you landed well about french fries with the Ninja... but how does bacon, cookies, frozen pizza, fresh pizza and other foods stack up. I have accepted I will bake in a standard oven and use a counter top oven for everything else from fries, chicken wings, fish, etc. Again... one of the best series of reviews on any topic I've seen... thank you!
Your detailed use of each oven was great. I love Breville products, but I own and use the Ninja oven. It is used more than my stove oven weekly and comes in very handy for extra dishes on holidays.
Chris, when it comes to trusted, tested, and knowledgeable opinions on electronics in the kitchen, you are THE MAN! I mean, having six Joule's, I know you know what the hell you're talking about! The one thing I have to disagree with you on is the Breville customer service. Without going into too much detail, I was VERY disappointed (and angry) that an expensive Breville juicer lasted only 3 weeks past it's one-year warranty. The experience with their customer service was not exactly stellar. Long story short, after sending back to them the now defunct juicer, they sent to me a new juicer....problem solved. Except it conked out a couple of months later. So I'm not keen at all about Breville and gun-shy about making a major purchase from them ever again.
I appreciate the reviews on the ovens! You're the best!
I am also disappointed with Breville's customer service. Not only did I have issue with ordering one of their PolyScience items (never sent the shipping email) but also currently attempting to get support for my Joule unit and support sent the wrong part and have been silent for over 2 weeks and no one answering their phones.
So I agree with you on future purchases. I will not look at Breville for future appliances based on my interactions with them no matter how good they review.
I had a Breville smart oven and something that needs to be communicated is that their electronics are temperamental and fail often! We loved our oven until we started getting error messages, when I reviewed my manual it stated to shut off unplug and contact service immediately. After researching this I found that it is very common issue with them as many others had the same and yes it failed like 4 months after the warranty...funny how this seems to work out?
I enjoyed this in-depth series and expertise, thank you
Love your unbiased product review which help me to make the informative decision. Thank you, Chris. Please continue to make this type of the video content.
Great series, Chris! Four more reasons why you do the best and most informative reviews of cooking tools. I learn so much with each review. But per Lee's post below, do you know what's up with June having no ovens for sale, with no mention on their website about a reason or when a restock might happen. Being the most technically advanced of the ovens, I suppose supply chain issues with getting needed parts could be why.
Absolutely the best comparison of these models. Scouring UA-cam to find a reasonable video and you nailed it. Thank you.
Very interesting series Chris. I see the wall outlet as the biggest drawback by limiting power. I'm more interested in Steam Ovens and look forward to you testing them.
Great video! I hope you can also do an in depth review of the Anova
Thank you. These are the most honest and objective reviews I have watched about these products.
The Ninja is the perfect size for my kitchen but as I bake much more than I oil cook this is perhaps less suitable for my needs and the other products don't seem to match either.
FINALLY -- someone giving an opinion review ACTUALLY gives their opinion!!! Outstanding!! You've done what every other UA-camr afraid of missing out on sponsor revenue (which they'll never get anyway) fails to do -- give an opinion and make a personal decision. That's why we watch these videos. The "well... it really depends on what YOU need" endings make me take note and ignore those channels. I've enjoyed this series -- your highlights, pros/cons, and information are well organized, well scripted, and the technical delivery (presentation, camera, lighting, editing, animations, etc.) are all very nice. Kudos! Shoot -- they were so well done I didn't even mind the self-promotion in the videos (well positioned and it didn't seem like you made the video as an excuse to promote a product you've created). THANK YOU for delivering.
Oven aside for a moment, I have to commend you on the review itself.
Concise yet thorough and completely reasonable and considerate of different requirements for different applications.
Bravo.
Would love an update now that June is no longer making ovens and many, including myself, have a Gen2 oven that can't receive updates after factory reset and the oven no longer works.
Very informative 👏 Presentation clear & easy to understand!
Excellent content, and insight in to what makes a smart oven and how smart they are and possibly could be.
Fantastic series, Chris. I hope to see more like it.
This was a fantastic review, great quality and content
It's really interesting to me how well engineered both of the Ninja products you've reviewed are given that it's more of a budget brand. Definitely some great staff they've got.
I admit to being surprised. There is definitely sone good engineering going on there.
They also seem to be the only consumer Pacojet competitor.
Fantastic series; I personally would keep the Ninja too.
Considering that the June uses cameras, I wonder if temperature control behaves differently with food in the oven.
The industry needs more independent testing, keep up the good work!
Hey Chef, glad to have found your channel. I remembered you from In search of perfection! The steak overcooking incident. The look Heston gave scared the life out of me, I'll always remember that. Glad to see you're doing well and have your own channel! (:
Thankfully that look was staged for the camera. I only got it for real once, when I first started working for him. And once was enough!
I really enjoyed your reviews. Thank you for making them :)
Do you have thoughts on the Anova Precision Oven? I’m curious how moisture and the thermometer impact your perception (but recognize the conflict of interest with the probe function, too). How do steam/combi functions review out in your opinion?
This video was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
This was a very impressive, well done review. Thank you!
I have been thinking about reviewing hearing aids and this format is inspiring.
i was most shocked they couldnt reach the stated 500 degrees temperature with 2 falling far short. clearly it has to do with insulation and heat loss since you said the outside of the ovens were hot to the touch. Missing a temperature claim in an empty oven is straight up deception.
A great presentation. June is quite impressive. I am inclined towards getting the Anova Precision for its sous vide and steam feature. Good to know that you plan to make a video
on it. BTW, I am happy customer of the Predictive Meat Themometer. I am surprised, I have not seen BBQ channels toying with it yet.
I would be interested on reviews of built in ovens from leading manufacturers always comparing the top model gaggenau/wolf/miele/samsung/aeg/bosch/siemens and others
I often wonder why there isn't an oven that just lets us manually control the elements and fan speed. It's annoying that you have to learn what each "feature" actually does and then try to remember that. Same applies to everything like instant pots, too. Keep all the buttons for the normal user for sure, but throw us a bone.
Interesting videos, thank you. I kind of want a June Oven, but the company appears not to be selling them anymore and hasn't for months as far as I can tell, that's out. In the end, I kind of just want a good oven that can reach and hold high temps and that has a decent fan (that I can turn off). That doesn't seem to be available.
I have a June and love it. But when Weber bought out June they discontinued them.
Nice review!! And how about the ANOVA Precision Oven?
This is a fantastic series! I'm quite nerdy about kitchen gear and learned so much from your videos. I think there are several other interesting questions worth discussing in today's smart oven world:
- What's the benefit of water in baking & air frying? Many steam ovens have a "steam bake/roast/broil" mode which uses steam and heating elements simultaneously. The recent Dreo Chefmaker air fryer simply sprays water on the food surface during cooking. Does it really make a difference, in terms of the evenness of temperature on the surface or the moisture inside the food?
- Similar to Element IQ, Dreo Chefmaker claims to have cooking programs that divide cooking into several stages - achieving doneness, pre-sear, sear, etc. It sounds like a significant step up compared to traditional air fryers' static presets. Do you think a complex program actually helps with cooking things like steaks?
Excellent analysis - very helpful!
Great work, Chris!
Needs an update as June got bought out and is no longer available for purchase.
Hahah. Your video thumbnail is amazing
I haven't seen a more informative assessment of smart ovens as this group. My only wish is that you had added a comparison of the Brava oven. Well done and thank you
Just found your channel after Kenji mentioned Combustion Inc. this is great stuff !
Amazing content! Thanks for all the time you dedicated to this!
Was about to buy the Breville but not I have second thoughts :(. One thing I haven't seen is how these ovens control smoke and how is cleaning.
Excellent review. Thanks for the level of detail. The only thing I see that is a gap in these kinds of reviews is reliability statistics.
Thank you. As someone in the hardware business myself, I would say there is no way to know the reliability statistics without access to the company's warranty claims data. But I also know that if it were over 1% during the warranty period, it would be a major problem and any reasonable manufacturer would be moving quickly to fix the problem. Personally, with these being experienced manufacturing companies, I would guess the manufacturing defect rate is below 0.25%.
What about ninja double oven
How about Anova?
Suggestion for a new video. I have an Anova Precision oven, I'd really appreciate a review, or suggestions on when to use steam and at what settings, maybe a good chance to talk about the science of steam ovens.
Very well presented and very informative, thank you.
Hey Chris, I really enjoyed your video very much, you answered cooking myths in very scientific way. I was wondering what are your thoughts on steam ovens for home cooking?
I'd love to see a review of the Anova combi oven, and especially tips for how to get the best results out of it.
Please review the Anova Precision Oven!
Hi Chris, did you examine the temperature differences in the 3D space inside the oven? In other words, the uniformity of the temperature distribution? Maximizing the circulating air flow will smooth out the temps in the oven. I get a kick out of you trying to explain fairly complex heat transfer topics to a general audience. A couple of episodes back you actually mentioned forced convection (and neglected free convection). But it *is* a rabbit hole. You need to explain laminar and turbulent flow, boundary layers, etc. Good job balancing the technical with the practical.
EXCELLENT VIDEO
Thank You for sharing this
This video is over a Year old
Do you have any updates on these products?
I do agree with your choice... but thought you might have an up date.
Thank you again for this GREAT Video.
can u review the anova precision steam oven in a future video? ive heard mixed opinions on it
You are supposed to leave between 8" 20cm to 12" 30cm air gap clearance above the ovens for heat safety. So the taller ovens like the Ninja cannot be used under a standard height wall cupboard. Therefore the lower wider ovens are the only option for a kitchen when the oven is to be placed under a wall cupboard.
This is from the Ninja manual: “When using this oven, provide adequate space (at least 1” above and on all sides) for air circulation.”
Considering its height is 13.34 inches and standard cabinet height starts at 18-20 inches above the counter, this is perfectly safe to place on the counter underneath cabinets. It’s all good 👍🏻
i expected a more blatant 'punchline' around the best 'smart oven' being any basic model, paired with your thermometer. seems like you're crediting the audience for being smart enough to connect the dots :)
Seriously. I felt respected watching this. I can only imagine what being able to integrate some of these ovens' functionality with the combustion thermometer would produce, and I think the fact that the thought's occurred to me at all is the best marketing anyone could do! Great video series regardless, it's got me thinking about my own appliances and how they work, and what I actually need at home.
Yeah, exactly, I think that's the point: what makes a smart oven? Knowing when to take your food out! Hence: predictive thermometer and "any oven you already own". 🤣
Yeah, and my crystal ball says this call is about to happen or has happened:
Breville Product Manager: Hi Chris, lovely series, great job comparing them. But we need to talk about integrating your thermometer with our ecosystem. Was thinking that since they both connect to smartphone apps and the cloud, we could rev the software (cloud + apps) to provide optional integration between the two for owners who have both. That way our autopilot can dynamically adapt based on the actual temperatures from your probe. If you cut us a good deal, we might even offer it as a special bundled set. ...
lol. I’m waiting for this!!!! I immediately had the same thought. It would definitely elevate the joule oven.
Simply amazing.... that's all i can say about this detailed breakdown
Internet connectivity has also the chance to brick an appliance when the vendor decides it wants to move on. Being a software engineer I am not buying a smart appliance. If my smart thermometer bricks that is one thing but if my oven ($900) bricks it is a different story. I bought the Meat-It thermometer and it is a piece of junk - hard to pair, uses batteries to charge and does not show the correct temperature.
Interesting reviews. I find it interesting that both Consumer Reports and America's Test Kitchen love the Breville and it always comes out on top in both of their reviews. Of course, they're rating an overall usage--including toasting bread and roasting meat in addition to the air-frying function. As you said, all households are a bit different, and for me, if I make this investment, I'd want to ditch my regular toaster as well as obviate the need for an air fryer, and I don't really need my countertop oven to be leagues smarter than my range oven, so maybe the Breville is best for me. Thanks for all of your insights.
Informative Video Chris !! Thank you ! Which one is best for roasting vegies ?
I’d say the Ninja or Breville are best for that because of their more powerful fans.
Thank you !!@@ChrisYoungCooks
Thank you for this video. It was very helpful. Would you recommend getting a ceramic coated air fryer instead of stainless steel?
another super good review.........why no Anova precision oven review ? Conflict of interest b/c your immersion circulator , or b/c its more a smart steam /combi oven. I'd go for the Ninja and figure out the stop fan hack, based on your 4 reviews, not merely due to price point, but the semi integrated if not highly accurate temp probe, the very good convection heat/fan footprint and height pros......and to be less wed to my freaking phone. I have the Anova and its neato but too app centric/ for me. Needs some "analog" controls.
This was a really good and thorough review and comparison. I’d be interested to see your take on the equivalent non-smart countertop convection ovens.
What an outstanding comparison! Wow! After reading reviews on the Ninja I gotta make note of the non-stainless tendency to rust so one should only consider the stainless version. I honestly don't know why they don't offer only a stainless steel. Still a difficult decision. I bake a lot so the Ninja is questionable. I have an old black & decker junky oven and it sucks. I've had it 12 years. The timer quit working over 25 minutes after about 2 months.
Lots to think about. I have a limited income so I have to get this right!
Oven designer here, thermometers are relatively expensive so it's a sales/marketing decision whether to increase the budget for one
I have had for 20 years a large Sharp carousel convection /microwave. It’s large enough for cooking large turkeys or small game hens perfect. I can bake cakes or anything. Can nuke cup of coffee. Can blend the 2 settings to work together. Cost 500 to 700.. Also bought 7 years ago a cheaper Cuisinart micro /convection oven for 250. Little smaller but keeps up with this Sharp. Would recommend both.
Great series and video. Would like to offer one bit of constructive criticism though, when discussing temps, it would be great to have the celcius on the screen too. Doesn't need to be part of the script, but as someone not living in North America, I have no real concept of what a temperature difference of 20F means.
ok, now add the Anova Smart Oven and the Brava Smart oven as well…these are great, thank you :-)
I bought the Ninja 10 in 1 last week ($229.00) & so far so good. It took a couple of tries to get the toast to the way I like it, baked some peanut butter cookies that came out wonderfully. I'm going to do a meat loaf & baked potatoes tomorrow. The real test will be a whole baked chicken. If it bakes up with crispy skin & still moist inside, then it will have been worth it. My only worry is the reports by many who say it is a pain in the tush to keep clean.
These ovens have sensors they react to, making them "smart", but part of their appeal is also the additional control of cooking they provide with such features as controllable fans and hearing elements. Some users may also want to consider more advanced ovens that do not offer sensors but do offer other abilities and controls.
For example, the recently released Ooni Volt 12 electric countertop oven. Designed primarily as a pizza oven, it offers less height and versatility than the ovens in this video. But it does offer a knob of full adjustability for distributing heat between the top or bottom heating element, is certified for outdoor use, and by being super-insulated is the first indoor electric oven to claim to reach 850°F (450° C) on a standard US outlet (120V), using 1600 watts of power and being cool to the touch. It can't tell you when your food is done, but I can see someone who is into pizza-making or other high-temperature cooking choosing between a smart conventional oven or a more specialized pizza oven, which of course you can cook other foods in.
So high-end non-smart consumer ovens are getting more sophisticated and offering more electronic controls. Like the Anova countertop steam oven, they're beyond the scope of this series on countertop smart ovens, but I think it's worth mentioning that temperature sensors, cameras, and convection aren't the only technologies improving and changing the experience of oven cooking, which otherwise hasn't substantially changed in many decades. There was a change from from traditional fuel-burning ovens to temperature controlled gas and electric ovens. And the experience has basically not changed until very recently. Set a temperature and bake. The biggest addition since was probably an integrated timer, which isn't much. But in the last decade, we now have substantially different home ovens offering more control performance with technologies such as convection, smart sensors, adjustable heating elements, and lower minimum and higher maximum temperates.
Thank you for this series. I might upgrade my toaster oven within the next few years and I will now be looking for convection and seriously considering smart oven features. Perhaps the next-gen Ninja will be smart enough for the fan to have an on-off switch. I subscribed to you immediately after watching my first video with you reviewing the Ninja CREAMi. I didn't know who you were when I started watching, but by the end I'd subscribed. This content is excellent. I now know what smart ovens are, why they're desirable, and the state of the market for countertop versions. I learned all this from your video series, having very little prior knowledge of smart ovens.
I will continue to follow your channel, and when I'm ready to replace it upgrade my thermometer yours will be at the top of my list when shopping for a new one. If my budget allowed it, I'd have already bought it after seeing it in use in this series. Easier, faster, more accurate, and more versatile. It's been years since I took a look at the state of the market (I use a Lavatools Javelin but would appreciate a longer probe), but last I checked all the instant-read thermometers just took the temperature at the tip, and you've introduced me to a superior thermometer design.
I enjoyed this series, and I watched it for your approach to these types of reviews and was why I subscribed to you after seeing your Hexclad video.
However I have a gripe with any app based appliance, which is support. And I don't mean the 1 year warranty or whatever they happen to come with, I mean app and server support. I don't want to own a product that can be so quickly and easily disabled because of a myriad of reasons. From the company deciding to sunset that model you own and stop updating or completely removing from their servers, to the company going out of business or being bought out and eliminated. There's too many ?????s with IOT devices.
What I'm saying is, if I were inclined to buy any of these, It'd be the Ninja hands down. But given I have a good convection oven that can go fanless, and good probe thermometers, and the room to support that, I think I'll stick it out without a smart oven.
Incredible review! Thank you
I value your reviews. Would love to see you examine the Nuwave iQ360 Digital Smart Convection Infrared oven. Doesn't have the reputation of more established brands but seems to offer a lot. Is the value there? Thanks.
Wonderful comparison, Thank You
Could you please add metric units in the future?
This was an excellent review. Thank you! You should compare the June oven with The Brava Glass oven. This should be interesting, as I feel that these are closer in features and function 🤔 I would love to hear your chef/scientific analysis. If considered, thank you in advance!
Hi Chris! Following your channel and looking forward to buying the Combustion soon from Australia! Can you please review the Dreo Chefmaker Air-Fryer that is somewhat relevant to this category?
How about the Cuisinart "Air Fryer Toaster Ovens". There are various iterations are around, with different control panels. Its sold at Costco and popular. My issue has been the large diameter ceiling mounted fan has to run at low speed even when not in convection mode, like the Ninja as you pointed out. Aside from the baking issues mentioned, this dries out toast. I think this is likely to keep the top mounted control panel cool so it doesn't fail. It's nice that the Ninja isn't too wide, but width-reducing top mounted control panels need a separate fan to cool the electronics, to avoid the oven interior fan running at all times. That adds cost and complexity, which Ninja and Cuisinart have avoided.
I've also got a Panasonic NB-G110P, that is popular in Japan. It excels at toasting, getting the exterior crispy without drying out the inside, using an infrared bulb that reaches full output almost instantly. The overhead clearance is extremely low though, a croissant puts it at its limit. It does produce consistent results that avoid burning the top though, since the digital control's algorithm modulates the bulb and elements fairly precisely. An amazing toaster disguised as an oven, and worth a look if that is your focus.
All June ovens appear to be sold out on their site. There are also online grumblings that Weber's acquisition of June may be putting the kibosh on future June ovens. Do you have any more info on this? Fingers crossed that June stays in the game. They seem to be the ones leading smart oven innovation and build quality.
My Breville air fryer/oven 900 BSS just burned out the 2 top heating elements after only just barely 2 years😢
You gotta do the Anova combie oven
I just love this channel
🙏
What is a safe distance from the top of the oven to under a cabinet ? Worried Ninja may be too high .