If you love new kitchen gadgets and appliances, read on for our 2024 Smart Kitchen Buyer's Guide. You'll find gifts for friends, family, and maybe even a few things for your own kitchen!
Note
Product prices were accurate at the time of publication but may have changed since then.
Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro ($449.95)
The Joule is perfect for anybody who doesn’t want to waste a lot of counter or storage space. This smart appliance is the size of a toaster oven, and takes the place of a slow cooker, convection oven, air fryer, toaster, broiler, pizza oven, and dehydrator! The coolest part? The Breville app serves up recipes from the New York Times tailor-made to the Joule Oven, with wireless control of the oven right from your iPhone.
Ember Mug 2 ($149.95)
Regular hot beverage drinkers know the frustration of trying to catch the tiny window of when your drink is the exact right temperature. The Ember mug offers an easy and elegant solution to this by keeping your drink at exactly the temperature you want.
Use the app to program the temperature range, check the light to see it’s reached that temperature, and sip away, happy in the knowledge your drink won’t plunge to icy temps the moment you look away. The built-in battery lets you move your mug around, plus, Ember has recently added a couple new beautiful colors so you can sip in style.
Cosori Smart Electric Gooseneck Kettle ($77.99)
A smart kettle isn’t something I ever thought I’d need, but now that I’ve tried it, I can never go back! My Cosori kettle can be fully controlled by my iPhone, from the exact temperature of the water to the time when I want the hot water to be ready. You can also set it to keep the water from cooling until you’re ready to pour, so you never have to re-boil a forgotten kettle again. I love that the kettle has pre-set temperature buttons so that I don’t always have to use my phone to control the kettle.
Midea Smart Two-Zone Air Fryer Oven ($177.00)
I’ve really enjoyed testing this smart air fryer, especially over the summer months. Being able to cook two different dishes at once without heating up my kitchen has been great! The top of this unit is a six-quart air fryer basket, and the bottom is a five-quart toaster oven. Users can bake, broil, toast, grill, reheat, or dehydrate two dishes at once. The best feature is the Sync Finish function, which automatically aligns cooking time so both dishes finish at the same time!
Larq Pitcher Pure Vis ($117.60)
This smart pitcher is back in my roundup this year because it’s been a kitchen tool that I use every single day, and I’m a very satisfied customer! The LARQ’s advanced filter removes dangerous pollutants, while the UVC-LED component purifies that filter, stopping the growth of bacteria and fungus. I’ve signed up for the discounted filter refill subscription, three filters every six months, for $72. This way, I never run out of clean, crisp water for cooking, drinking, watering my plants, and refilling pet dishes.
Buyer's Guide 2023: Kitchen Gear
Check out last year's picks!
OHOM Ui Artist Collection (from $128)
How many times have you made yourself a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, only to get sidetracked and come back to a tepid, unappealing brew? Ohom’s self-heating mugs are the solution! These lightweight, hand-crafted mugs are each unique, and come in a choice of five colors. Your drink stays at a steady 130 degrees Fahrenheit when on the included heating pad. Take it off, and the pad becomes a wireless charger for your iPhone but heats up again quickly when you replace your mug. Redesigned and updated from previous models, the pad connects with your iPhone quicker than ever before, keeping you caffeinated and ready to cook.
Otterbox Defender Series iPad Case (from $89.95)
Now that you’re caffeinated, it’s time to meal plan! Your iPad is great in the kitchen; it has a bigger screen than an iPhone, and it’s perfect for following recipes or watching cooking tutorials. Use Siri to take calls, text, and control music playback on a speaker hands-free, so your iPad doesn’t get smeared with ingredients. I recommend the Otterbox Defender to protect your iPad. The Defender offers a polycarbonate shell, synthetic rubber slipcover, and removable screen cover to protect your iPad from multiple drops of up to four feet. Port covers even keep volume buttons and charging ports free from dirt and debris.
Aerogarden Bounty ($229.95)
I love gardening and get the blues when the hard frost comes and kills my outdoor plants. So, the opportunity to grow inside, year-round, is a dream come true. The Bounty is a smart hydroponic system that lets users grow nine plants up to 24-inches tall, perfect for flavorful herbs and greens. This unit will quickly pay for itself in savings on expensive fresh herbs and lettuce. Best of all, you can use the AeroGarden app to monitor your garden’s water level and turn the grow lights on and off remotely, so your plants can stay healthy while you’re out of town.
LARQ Pitcher PureVis ($139)
Water quality impacts the taste of everything we prepare. But there’s also a huge health component to consider. The advanced filter in the Larq pitcher helps remove dangerous pollutants. But what makes the Larq the best water filtration system I’ve ever owned is the two-step filtration process. A physical filter traps pollutants, and a UVCLED component purifies the filter. The Larq app connects to your smart pitcher to track battery life, water consumption, and filter status. Results? Peace of mind with every safe, clean sip.
Chef iQ Smart Pressure Cooker ($199.99)
Now, to the actual cooking! For those with busy schedules (most of us), a “set it and forget it” cooking method is a lifesaver. This six-quart pressure cooker has a built-in scale and is programmed with over 300 preset recipes. Food cooks up to 70 percent faster than oven and stovetop methods, and the associated app lets users review, select, and walk through recipes step-by-step. You can even set up manual cooks, monitor progress, and turn off the cooker from anywhere in your home.
