That's an interesting take, but what actually happened is three different things: 1. microwave ovens became affordable, popular, and then discovered to be terr

That's an interesting take, but what actually happened is three different things: 1. microwave ovens became affordable, popular, and then discovered to be terrible for browning things, but so good at generally warming food that they became a smash hit. 2. toaster ovens were introduced, with two hardware controls instead of one (heat and time), which did an acceptable job of toasting but also handled lots of other small warming and browning tasks. 3. toasters came back as a nostalgic luxury good. In all of these markets, the companies with more robust hardware capabilities were able to charge a premium, attract customer loyalty to their brands, and use the brand reputation to diversify to related kitchen goods.