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Splurge-worthy smart kitchen gadgets

best kitchen splurges? The Tineco Smart Toaster, as seen on a counter, with toast slices.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While it’s always fun to score a bargain or to get something you really covet on sale, there are times when a gadget or appliance is simply worth the splurge. We review a lot of kitchen tech, appliances, and accessories and these are the ones that have earned a place in our kitchens. Consider them an investment.

Anova Precision Cooker
Anova Nano
Master sous vide cooking
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Tineco TOASTY ONE Smart Toaster, with Touchscreen, 2-Slice Toast Individually, Auto Lift and Lowers, High-End Stainless Steel Design with Limitless Toasting Adjustment, Fresh, Reheat and Frozen
Tineco Toasty One
Smart toaster is surprisingly helpful
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Cuisinart RHM-100 EvolutionX Cordless Hand Mixer, 5 Speeds, Gray/Black
Cuisinart EvolutionX hand beater
Cordless appliances in the kitchen makes sense
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Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser, automatic 12-oz dispenser with 20-second timer, Works with Alexa
Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser
Touchless is the future!
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Looft Lighter X | Next Generation Cordless Charcoal Starter | Super Heated air reaches 1200°F in 60 sec | Lights All Fuels: briquettes, Fireplace logs, and More
Looft Lighter X
A wire-free way to fire up your grill
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Thermomix TM6
Thermomix TM6
All in one kitchen robot
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U by Moen Smart Faucet
U by Moen smart faucet
Talk to your tap
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the Joule® Oven Air Fryer Pro
Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro
Execute chef recipes like a pro
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anova precision cooker nano an400 us00 review
Erika Rawes/Digital Trends

Anova Nano

Pros
  • Compact size
  • Touchscreen display/controls on the device
  • Sleek design
  • Durable construction
  • App control
Cons
  • Lacks Wi-Fi connectivity
  • Clamp is small
  • Tends to sit too high on the pot, requiring higher water

Anova Nano is a free-standing sous-vide cooker that can be placed in any pot, pan, or basin. It plugs into the wall and can be controlled via an app. The Nano will heat water to a specified temperature and hold it there for hours, meaning it’s impossible to overcook something. Sous vide cooking ensures your food holds at the optimum temperature so you can make the perfect steak (or a number of other foods) every time.

Anova Precision Cooker
Anova Nano
Master sous vide cooking

Tineco Toasty One

Pros
  • Cooks two pieces to different crispiness
  • Color touch screen
  • Perfect results
Cons
  • Expensive
  • A bit bigger than average toaster

Tineco’s Toasty One is a smart toaster that detects your bread and adjusts the heat to ensure it comes out perfectly every time. You can even make two pieces of toast at the same time with completely different doneness levels. It has a touchscreen, so you can choose the exact shade of toast you want. It’s not cheap, but it will be a gadget that dazzles your houseguests.

Tineco TOASTY ONE Smart Toaster, with Touchscreen, 2-Slice Toast Individually, Auto Lift and Lowers, High-End Stainless Steel Design with Limitless Toasting Adjustment, Fresh, Reheat and Frozen
Tineco Toasty One
Smart toaster is surprisingly helpful

Cuisinart EvolutionX hand beater

Pros
  • No wires
  • Use anywhere
  • Great for RVs and camping
Cons
  • Not as powerful as corded models

For those on the move, Cuisinart’s Evolution X is a hand-held blender with several different heads for immersion blending, whipping, and even drink frothing. It’s perfect for moving around in the kitchen. Since you don’t need to be tied to a wall outlet, you can mix up batter or quiche anywhere: on the stovetop, or even the dining table. Even if you already have a handheld blender, there are all kinds of reasons why a cordless version comes in handy, particularly for campers and those who own RVs.

Cuisinart RHM-100 EvolutionX Cordless Hand Mixer, 5 Speeds, Gray/Black
Cuisinart EvolutionX hand beater
Cordless appliances in the kitchen makes sense

Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser

Pros
  • Compact
  • Touchless; no germs
  • Nice design
Cons
  • Might be bulky for some homes/sinks

A couple of years ago this might have seemed like a silly splurge, but these days it’s a wise investment. Any time we can eliminate touch points we’re avoiding contact with any kind of germs, whether that’s COVID or salmonella. Amazon’s Smart Soap Dispenser is an excellent idea for those with kids or for people who like cleanliness. You can control how much soap it dispenses by how far you place your hands under the spout, and it lights up for 20 seconds (the recommended washing time). You can also use it with your Alexa routines and have it play music.

Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser, automatic 12-oz dispenser with 20-second timer, Works with Alexa
Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser
Touchless is the future!

Looft Lighter X

Pros
  • No chemical-way to start fires
  • Rechargeable
  • Resuable
  • Acts as a bellows to stoke fire too
Cons
  • It's big and heavy

The rechargeable cordless Looft Lighter X is worth a look if you use a charcoal grill. It’s a unique tool made to both spark up your charcoal fire, and do double duty as a bellows to provide all important oxygen to your grill. Just click it on, touch it to the charcoal, and when the charcoal sparks or begins to glow, you pull the lighter back to provide a wider area of heat and lots of airflow. Within a minute, your charcoal is lit, and you’re off to the races.

Looft Lighter X | Next Generation Cordless Charcoal Starter | Super Heated air reaches 1200°F in 60 sec | Lights All Fuels: briquettes, Fireplace logs, and More
Looft Lighter X
A wire-free way to fire up your grill
thermomix tm6 cooking robot review
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Thermomix TM6

Pros
  • 20 different cooking functions in one device
  • Easy to use
  • Thousands of recipes available
  • Nice big screen
  • Automated cooking modes in addition to recipes
  • Self-cleaning
Cons
  • Pricey
  • Yearly Cookidoo recipe subscription required

The Thermomix TM6 is an all-in-one cooking device; it’s a blender, food processor, cooking pot, rice maker, whip, and steamer. In fact, you can cook an entire meal simultaneously, with the protein grilling above your steamed veggies. It also sous-vides, slow cooks, and even emulsifies. It’s quite pricey, but if you consider that it replaces about a dozen other appliances and gadgets, you’ll be pretty excited to give it a try. Oh, and this “kitchen robot” is all the rage across Europe.

Thermomix TM6
Thermomix TM6
All in one kitchen robot
u by moen smart faucet review 3
Image used with permission by copyright holder

U by Moen smart faucet

Pros
  • Delivers precise water temperatures
  • Accurate measurements
  • Voice control works great
  • Nice design in many styles
  • Battery power or AC
  • Can be DIY-installed
  • Versatile: Sse handle, motion or voice
Cons
  • Require substantial initial set up
  • Some may be intimidated by installation

You might think it’s a bit decadent to talk to your tap, but hear us out. U by Moen is a smart faucet that can deliver a precise amount of water on voice command and can be activated by hand movement. It has a setting for wand washing that will keep the faucet running for 20 seconds, pause while you soap up, and continue. Plus, with the ability to set presets to fill your coffee pot or the dog dish, it means no wasted water.

U by Moen Smart Faucet
U by Moen smart faucet
Talk to your tap
new breville joule oven air fryer pro and app bov950 00007 bst jpeg high res rev 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro

Pros
  • Cooks food evenly
  • 13 cooking options
  • Smart app that works seamlessly with oven
  • Eliminates the need for multiple small appliances
Cons
  • Bagel function doesn't work quite right

The Joule by Breville is an oven and an air fryer combined. You can activate it by voice, and it has a number of smart functions designed to optimize cooking time. You can also use it to proof dough and dehydrate fruit. The companion app is filled with hundreds of recipes from New York Times Cooking (no subscription required), Top Chef alum, Breville Test Kitchen, and more. Best of all, recipes with a flight plan basically cook themselves. Want to wow your guests? Quickly cook up a batch of delicious croissants that proof and bake themselves to perfection.

the Joule® Oven Air Fryer Pro
Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro
Execute chef recipes like a pro

With so many amazing gadgets on the market, and new models being introduced all the time, it’s never been easier to incorporate tech in the kitchen. Try out something new and see if it saves you time and money.

Erin Lawrence

Erin has over 20 years of experience as a journalist in the media and news industries, with time both on camera and behind the scenes in network TV production, plus years of writing for blogs,websites, magazines and newspapers.

A renowned storyteller (winner of two Edward R Murrow Awards for Journalism) Erin has covered everything from daily news, to technology, food, travel and architecture and loves to share what she's working on through her blog, TechGadgetsCanada.com, YouTube Channel, Erin Lawrence TV and across social media.

Erin has a Master's Degree in Journalism from Western University in London, and has been named to a Top 40 Under 40 by Avenue Magazine. She has minor obsessions with smart lighting, Palm Springs, gemology, and geology.

These Linkind smart bulbs are 37% off, and have one of the best apps I’ve used
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I know some people think that a lot of smart home tech is frivolous, and some of it is, I'll agree, but there are certain things that make daily life a little better. For example, I have security cameras, a video doorbell, smart lights, a smart garage door, and all of these things make living in my home convenient. With my lights, for example, I can create on-off schedules and I don't have to get up to use them. After a long day, that's a welcome feature, believe me. It's especially helpful with Christmas lights and decorative lights -- like the ones I have set up to automatically turn on at sunset on my patio.

With a smart video doorbell, I can answer my door, converse with parcel delivery teams, and shoo off solicitors -- we get a lot of them where I live. But among all of those experiences and devices, one of my biggest qualms is with the apps you use to interact with this tech.

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Cyber Monday Ember deals: Save up to 34% on our favorite smart mugs
The Ember Travel Mug 2 outdoors.

The holidays are coming, and that means the cold weather is coming with it. Give the gift of warm, toasty beverages to your loved ones, and you'll be the talk of the town. We’re not referring to little red wagons or a Lite Brite. What we have in mind is a temperature-controlled Ember mug to keep coffee, tea, and other hot drinks at optimally hot temperatures. These smart cups and thermoses are tough as nails, and many are designed with portability in mind. Some models even feature Find My integration for your Apple ecosystem! 

While Ember’s device lineup is still growing as part of our ongoing hunt for great Cyber Monday deals, we’ve scoured the web for the best markdowns in order to bring you this roundup. Here are some of our favorite Cyber Monday Ember deals for the week, including the Ember Travel Mug and Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug 2. These discounts won’t be around forever, so now might be the best time to buy! You may also want to check out our lists of the best coffee maker deals and espresso machine deals.
Our top pick: Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug 2 — $110 $150 27% off

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Best home security camera deals: Ring, Arlo, Blink and more on sale
These are the best security camera deals available right now
Prime Day 2022 security camera deals graphic.

If you've always wanted a solid home security camera because you're worried about the place you're living in and want some piece of mind, then you'll be happy to know there are a lot of options out there. The great thing is that in the past decade or so, security cameras have come a long way, and nowadays, you can get things like wireless security cameras that let you access them remotely from wherever you are through an application. Of course, that does mean that there is a huge selection out there, which is why we've collected some of our favorite security camera deals below, although if you're in the Amazon ecosystem, it might be worth checking out these Ring camera deals.
Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Security Camera -- $30 $50 41% off

While this is ostensibly made for your garage, there's no reason the Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage can't work for other uses as well, especially if you don't need the highest quality of recording. It has an HD camera, which isn't a ton, but it does have an impressive 130-degree field of view. The MyQ also connects through dual-band Wi-Fi for a better connection, and it even has two-way communication, which is impressive for something at this price bracket.

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