A Guide to Smart Ovens

When you add Wi-Fi connectivity to your core kitchen cooking appliance, you can do wonderful things.

Below are the latest high-tech ovens that will add a new layer of convenience and comfort for any cook, from the master chef to the amateur baker.

June Oven, 2nd Generation

The second generation of the "world’s first and only intelligent convection oven" has recently been released, and it does not disappoint. The countertop cooker can perform seven culinary tasks (convection oven, air fryer, dehydrator, slow cooker, broiler, toaster and warming drawer) in one device and features a built-in HD camera that allows users to watch their roast cook from across the apartment, or across the world, via the accompanying June app.

This camera also performs a secondary role that’s integral to June’s appeal. Paired with advanced A.I., June’s camera can recognize over 50 common food items and automatically suggest an ideal cooking program for said dish. And in addition to this instant food-recognition ability, June comes equipped with 100-plus one-tap cooking programs, developed by accomplished chefs, to make a variety of foods to your exact liking.

And of course, because this is 2018, you can control your June entirely with your voice, as the device features integration with Amazon’s A.I. assistant, Alexa. Best of all, however, is that the June will keep getting better—the cooker’s Wi-Fi connectivity allows developers to easily upgrade June’s abilities, from recipes to food recognition, without any fuss on your part.

Other new June features include faster cooking processes, a streamlined touchscreen interface and a lower price. The June Oven, 2nd Generation is available for $599.

GE WiFi Connect Ovens

For chefs who are looking for smart functionality but can do without the frills, the suite of GE WiFi Connect ovens will suit. Available for wall ovens (single or double) and freestanding and slide-in ranges, GE WiFi Connect ovens add the core features of internet connectivity. Users can control all the major functions of their oven—pre-heat, change temperature, turn oven off/on, set and adjust timers, receive timer alerts—from anywhere in the world through GE’s Appliances Kitchen app, allowing chefs to liberate themselves from the kitchen and multitask while making dinner. GE WiFi Connect ovens’ always online nature also allows for some helpful third-party integrations. Owners can use Alexa or Google Assistant to control the WiFi Connect’s features via voice command, or leverage IFTTT services to build third-party connections—like preheating your oven anytime you tweet #CookieTime.

GE WiFi Connect ovens are available for $1,599 to $5,999, depending on model and features.

Brava

Voice commands, third-party integrations and across-the-world app control are all lovely, smart features but what is the most intelligent offering a high-tech oven can provide? Time.

Pairing trademarked "Pure Light" technology with multi-zone cooking and sensor-based monitoring, the Brava claims to be the "world’s fastest oven," preparing full meals in half the time of conventional ovens—and on a single tray too. The countertop wonder is able to reach 500°F in less than a second—thus negating the need for preheating—and can adjust temperatures automatically, based on what’s inside, so that you don’t have to keep your full focus on what you’re cooking—a useful feature, as the Brava’s multizone environment allows users to cook different items at different temperatures at the same time, again, on a single tray.

But what to cook? Brava offers home cooks complete customization over the controls in how they might prepare any meal—but the company also provides an ever expanding list of recipes in the accompanying Brava app, which can be sent directly to the device. If the device and directions aren’t enough, Brava can also deliver the delectables. Users can opt into Brava-prepared meal kits, which are simply placed in the oven and come out perfect every time.

The Brava starter set is available for pre-order now for $995, with the device shipping between October and December.

Whirlpool Smart Ranges

Another option for the function-over-frills set, Whirlpool Smart Ranges bring easy-to-use intelligence into the kitchen. Like nearly all modern home gadgets, Whirlpool allows users to leverage voice command to control their oven’s core functions by pairing their cooker with an Alexa or Google Assistant-enabled device, but the Smart Ranges’ clever qualities don’t stop there. Whirlpool Smart Ranges will actually learn from their users routines—so if you like to prepare your pizza in a very specific manner, your oven will pick up on that and preserve those precise directions for the next time you want to make a pie.

Whirlpool has also partnered with several frozen food manufacturers to allow users to scan packaging, via the Whirlpool app, and have the manufacturers recommended cooking directions sent directly to the oven, allowing anyone—even the deeply inept chef—to make a perfectly prepared meal.

Whirlpool Smart Ranges are available for $2,049 to $2,149, depending on size and features.