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As a chronic comparison shopper, this is a first-world problem that's near and dear to my heart. I think the reason microwaves (and appliances in general) suck
by ForkMeOnTinder 3y ago
As a chronic comparison shopper, this is a first-world problem that's near and dear to my heart. I think the reason microwaves (and appliances in general) suck is because comparison shopping is so hard.
I wish I could get a list of all microwaves and filter by criteria such as:
- Does the +30 seconds button start cooking immediately, or do you have to also press "start" afterwards?
- Does it beep every 30 seconds after it finishes, and if so can I turn that off?
- Better yet, can I turn the beeping off completely without taking the damn thing apart and desoldering the beeper, and of course in the process risking my life near the high-voltage electronics?
But it's basically impossible to know these things without buying it and opening the box, so there's no competitive pressure pushing manufacturers to make their appliances less annoying, so we all have to live with these little papercuts throughout our daily lives for perpetuity.
- WirelessGigabit 3y agoCan I press 1-9 just do get 1-9 minutes. My current one is: Press cook time, 1, 0, 0, start. Too long. So for 1 minute it is faster to do +30, +30, as that immediately starts.
- gobins 3y agoThe Samsung microwaves, although with good build quality, are notorious for having a very bad UX. - The buttons don't give have tactile feedback. - Setting time is very confusing. - You have to press multiple buttons just to start. - If you want to cancel/clear timer, you have to press multiple buttons again.
- nvy 3y agoI've had the misfortune of using a Samsung microwave, electric oven, dishwasher, and phone. I've concluded that Samsung products are just generally dogshit.
- bick_nyers 3y agoAfter owning LG, GE, and Samsung appliances, I am now an LG fanboy.
- gobins 3y agoI do have to mention that out of all their appliances, I do love their washing machines. I have owned a couple over the last 10 years ant they just keep working.
- samplatt 3y agoHow is Samsung so bad at software in every single division they own? It's amazing.
- Waterluvian 3y agoI just want a microwave with an analog dial for time and a switch for low, med, high. They can keep the computer.
- swader999 3y agoWould purchase.
- civilitty 3y agoI was looking for a microwave with two knobs a few years ago and finally found one. Unfortunately it was one of the most expensive ones in the stores: https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/microwaves/bmo850.html?sku=BMO850BSS1BUC1 https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/microwaves/bmo850.ht... Biggest annoyance is that it's 1500W so any time I'm microwaving packaged food I have to scale down power to 70-80% to match the wattage on the package.
- dalyons 3y agoI bought this one for the same reason , two simple knobs , no BS keypads and presets. It was expensive but I love it, more than I expected.
- jemmyw 3y agoBreville. They're OK. Which is praise when the competition sucks. I've got their slow + pressure cooker and a coffee machine. Both more expensive and better than the alternatives in their price range, but still with plenty of problems. It's like they give half a shit when manufacturers like De'Longhi give none.
- furst 3y agoDepending on how you feel about IKEA, their TILLREDA model microwave is two dials for time and power, and a button to open the door
- ajdude 3y ago
- citizenkeen 3y agoLiterally all those things are discoverable if you buy in a store. Edit: I maybe should have clarified "appliance store", rather than big box. But there are three appliance stores within ten miles of me that sell appliances. Not Home Depot, not Wal-Mart. Appliance stores. The refrigerators and ovens and microwaves are all plugged in and you can try any of them. The only thing you can't try is the gas ranges. This is the world we built shopping for price.
- paranoidrobot 3y agoDo stores let you operate these kinds of things where you are?
- hattmall 3y agoYeah, any appliance store will. Not like a walmart, but also they probably will, at the very least you could buy it and return it, but just go to an appliance store or even lowes. They will have lots of floor models open and active and will help you set up to test anything else you want because the salesmen are paid on commission.
- pests 3y agoI think people are so conditioned to the modern lack of customer support from companies (or the strict adherence to "policy) that simple things like this are overlooked. Literally just asking them to plug it in before you buy it... is forgotten by most people. If it's not a secice written on a sign then it's must be impossible right?
- 22c 3y agoAre they? Perhaps I'm out of touch with the brick and mortar experience. The majority of microwaves I've seen at my local department store are in a box, those few models that are on display are not powered. Even in the highly unusual case that they were powered or within proximity of a free power socket, I think it'd be rather unorthodox to go to the store and test drive a microwave with your instant ramen.
- emchammer 3y agoI could do without the clock. How about if I do not set a time on the clock, then do not display 12:00 or anything when not in use.
- pcl 3y agoSeriously. I used to have a microwave and oven stacked on top of each other. Both had an LCD, and so some horrible PMs somewhere presumably had entire sets of meetings to spec out the clock feature. The microwave would not function if the time and AM/PM values were not set. (As far as I could tell, there was no way to actually ever see the AM/PM value after setting it!) So. Every time the power went out, I would be confronted with blinking times on clocks I didn’t even want, and a nonfunctional microwave. I will never buy a kitchen appliance with a mandatory clock ever again.
- kevincox 3y agoNot to mention having to update the time every DST transition otherwise you have a wrong clock which is worst than no clock at all.
- cassianoleal 3y agoI usually set such clocks to some random time that's so off you would never mistake it for the real thing.
- SAI_Peregrinus 3y agoI tend to set non-TZ-aware/non-NTP clocks to UTC.
- JohnFen 3y agoI do this as well. It works well for me.
- lb1lf 3y agoMy Siemens oven wanted an Internet connection on first power up. I fired off an E-mail to Siemens, stating that there was ONE feature which could tempt me into granting it access: NTP support. Much to my surprise, I got an enthusiastic reply from an engineer stating that this would be rolled out in a future firmware update. Fingers crossed.
- sergiosgc 3y agoI've done my research, on sale floors. The best I've come up with are Teka microwaves: - Electronic, unfortunately. No time/power dials, in favor of a menu system from hell, but - One button press to start (max power, 30s); - After starting, there's a button to add 30s; - It only beeps twice after finishing, then shuts up.
- winrid 3y agoLooked up Teka microwaves, they look very fancy. My $50 microwave from walmart from like 2014 does all this haha, but the downside is you can't disable the beep.
- solardev 3y agoI have similar UX desires and I typically have good luck looking up their manuals or just looking on reddit or whatever before I buy. It's often some combination of holding down 1, 2, or 0 for a few seconds to change those modes.
- ChainOfFools 3y agoThe kind of review you're looking for is what Consumer Reports is, (or at least used to be, as I'm not sure of the current state of things,) famous for. Because it's a paid subscription, and all of the items they review are actually purchased from retail suppliers who have no knowledge that Consumer Reports is the buyer, they can take their time and do very thorough comparisons incorporating tests of real world usability and reliability that are difficult to tabulate and instead have to reviewed like a movie or a book. But I don't know, it's likely the consumer reports type of shopper is such a minor fraction of the market that isn't worth optimizing for them any more.
- voisin 3y agoFor those who don’t want to pay, many libraries allow free digital access to Consumer Reports.
- Terretta 3y ago> For those who don’t want to pay For those who wish Consumer Reports didn't have the money to buy the products they test and depended on advertising and payola inevitably gaming the reviews instead... Arguably advertising destroyed the microwave ... and everything else.
- 1123581321 3y agoYou can usually stop by and flip through the buying guide index, too.
- thayne 3y agoThe problem with consumer reports is I only need it every once in a while, so it isn't really worth paying a continual subscription for.
- _dark_matter_ 3y agoI do it anyways, because I need them the most on expensive things, so my subscription evens out. But they do have common household items as well.
- kyleee 3y agoWhat we really need is a project farm for microwaves
- jacknews 3y agoCan you elaborate? I was about to ask are there are concept designs for microwaves, particularly the UI, but other features as well - I'd be interested to see ideas of what microwaves could be. I don't think the article is correct that the humidity sensor was the last innovation (and actually, how can I tell if a microwave has this, and how is used anyway?) - we also have inverter microwaves recently, as well as combi grill/microwave etc. EDIT: Oh, I think you meant "Project Farm", the youtube reviewer. Anyway, I'd like to see a 'design farm' for microwave concepts and designs, and appliances in general actually, they all suck.
- smegsicle 3y ago> Does the +30 seconds button start cooking immediately, or do you have to also press "start" afterwards? i've seen one where buttons 1-6 immediately start cooking for that many minutes, alongside a +30 button, so that every 30s interval between 30s and 6:30 can be activated in one or two button pushes; fastest nuke in the west
- eszed 3y agoOurs does that. I never touch any of the (indeed useless) Potato / Popcorn / Soup (yes, soup... What?) buttons, but the instant-on time-interval buttons are lovely. It's "Magic Chef", for those of you who are curious. We didn't buy it (came with the house), and I'm not pulling it off the shelf to look for a model number on the back (I moved the vinegar bottles next to it, and there's no sticker on that side, nor the other, either), but that's a place to start.
- rrr_oh_man 3y ago> Soup (yes, soup... What?) Actually, yeah! The "soup" setting nukes it in such a way that you don't get a scolding hot bowl + top layer of soup, while everything else stays cold. (Mostly by spinning the tray and heating it in a burst-like pattern, I think) I still would rather just cover the dish with another bowl, which achieves a better & faster result.
- eszed 3y agoHuh! TIL. That said, I've heated a lot of soup - without using the "Soup" button, mind - and not experienced the problem you describe. IANAMS (I Am Not a Microwave Scientist), but observationally it seems to me that bowl material has most to do with microwave results. I have a few bowls (and mugs) I never use in the microwave, because they seem always to get hotter than their contents. Later, I'll try one of them on "Soup" to see if it makes a difference.
- jotato 3y ago> does it beed every +30 seconds No joke, I bought and returned 4 microwaves before I found one that doesn't. I'm picky, and finally found one that does a quick double "beeep beeep" and is done.
- fbdab103 3y agoWell don't leave the crowd in suspense.
- Lammy 3y agoI use a Panasonic NN-SD945S and it's configurable https://help.na.panasonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/NNSD745_SD945_PA0116_ENG.pdf#page=10 https://help.na.panasonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/NNS... I leave it enabled though because it is not continuous and has like a TADA.WAV kind of vibe. So happy!
- Sakos 3y agoOh, I have a Panasonic NN-GD38 that only beeps once. Sometimes I forget my food in the microwave because of it though. It's the best microwave I've ever had (also the first time I've ever spent so much on one).
- alecco 3y agoNot OP, but most LG microwaves allow to turn sounds off with a special button combination. Even though my model's manual doesn't mention it, I could guess it from other manuals and YT videos.
- jotato 3y agoIt's a GE. That's all I know :/
- mackeyja92 3y agoMost microwaves have a mute setting. Often it’s set by holding 1 for 5 seconds. Varies by brand and model of course. Definitely worth looking up if it bugs ya!
- baal80spam 3y agoDo most of microwaves have such a setting? I've never seen one.
- blackboxlogic 3y agoIt's not a setting you'd "see", it's a secret you'd find on the last page of that manual you threw out.
- stevage 3y agoMy ideal microwave would have two buttons. 1: The first two times you push it, it sets the timer to 0:30 and starts cooking. The next time, adds 0:30. Each time after that, it adds 1 minute and starts cooking. 2. Reset the timer to 0. And a door latch which stops cooking. I don't need power levels, or more precise timing, or any of that other stuff.
- stevesimmons 3y agoCommercial microwaves for restaurants are like that.
- stevage 3y agoAh, nice. Do you know any brands/models?
- huytersd 3y agoWhat an asinine solution. A button that doesn’t work consistently. How are you going to set 1:30 (which is very common)? Or 55? You’re going to stand there and press that one button 57 times? What about defrosting where you want a low power level? Or soups? Or a hundred other examples. How does having a number pad ruin the experience?
- rrr_oh_man 3y ago> What an asinine solution "Why does not everyone have the same opinions and preferences as I do?!"
- stevage 3y ago>What an asinine solution Please be nice. This isn't Reddit. > A button that doesn’t work consistently. A button that is context-aware. >How are you going to set 1:30 (which is very common)? Good point. It should add 30 seconds until it gets to 2:00 then do 60 second increments. >Or 55? 55 minutes is not a thing I ever do with a microwave. >What about defrosting where you want a low power level? I already said I don't use power levels. If I want to defrost, I just cook for a few minutes then let it sit for a long time, or use some other method. >Or soups? Assuming you mean a tub of frozen soup, I usually cook for 5 minutes, stir, do another few minutes, etc. > Or a hundred other examples. There are not a hundred other examples. That's the point. The vast majority of the time I'm heating at full power for short periods of time. > How does having a number pad ruin the experience? It doesn't ruin anything. But it costs money to implement.
- bick_nyers 3y agoMy "favorite" feature on the GE microwave that came with my house: If you cook something then walk away (leaving the food inside) then come back and want to zap it for 30 seconds, you must open and close the door to "Insert Food".
- eviks 3y ago> comparison shopping is so hard. This indeed, there is no structured info anyware in even the software land where it's easier to get the info without buying/unboxing, so you can't rely on reviews that takes all those things into account and can't really do it yourself
- elbasti 3y agoIt seems like you have an amazing talent for reviewing electronics, and that you've identified a kind of review that doesn't exist in the market and people might find valuable! NYT bought Wirecutter for 30 million dollars so... who knows, there might be a business here.
- jay_kyburz 3y agoI subscribed to Australian Choice for one year a few years ago. It sounded really cool, you pay a hundred bucks a year and they go out and buy a bunch of stuff and compare it in an unbiased way. And it was cool for a while, until I started reading their reviews and comparisons on products I knew a lot about and done my own research on. I found they just missed a lot of things I found really important. We didn't agree on things I know about, so I had to assume we wouldn't agree on things I did know about! https://www.choice.com.au/ https://www.choice.com.au/
- bambax 3y ago> comparison shopping is so hard Yes, but it's much worse than it needs to be. When searching for hard disks on Amazon, if you search for "hard disk 8 tb" for example, Amazon will suggest the following criteria on the left side of the page: Hard Disk Size 4 TB & Above 3 TB 2 TB 1 TB 501 to 999 GB 321 to 500 GB 121 to 320 GB Up to 80 GB Really? What is the point of this? How can it not do better?
- mrbigbob 3y agoAmazons search as you are aware has been notoriously bad for many many years at this point. i find that the diskprices website is very helpful when searching for hard drives on amazon. https://diskprices.com/ https://diskprices.com/ If you dont want to use amazon https://www.pcpartpicker.com https://www.pcpartpicker.com has a good section to search and compare hard drive sizes/pricing
- bonton89 3y agoMy conspiracy theory is Amazon search is intentionally bad to make their ads more valuable.
- MaxikCZ 3y agoThats the reason I just ignore amazon. When, once in a while, I search for something on amazon, it just returns pages of related things. Its worse than Youtube search. They can keep it.
- jedberg 3y agoBuy a Panasonic. They seem to care about user experience. Beeps once, +30 starts it, and they're the only one with an inverter, so you can do a true 50% (unless I'm in a huge hurry I always cook at 50% for double the time, and it seems to come out much better).
- kenmacd 3y agoI have an LG that's an inverter one. I agree though, don't buy a non-inverter model if you care at all about the quality of what comes out of it. And for the above poster, +30 starts it, it plays a little tune when done, and then every maybe 30s afterwards for 2 or 3 times. Oh, and the turntable rotates at 0.1Hz so a mug's handle is facing the same way it went in after any interval of ten seconds.
- 2-718-281-828 3y agoi could compare washing machines for a long time before i decide on which on is best suited for my needs ... then again, though, i have used hundreds of different washing machines in my life and i can't remember even single time having been unsatisfied with the cleanliness. my conclusion: it often doesn't really matter.
- Eddy_Viscosity2 3y agoIf we're listing things we want to see in a microwave, I would add a knob! Just let me spin a dial to set the time then push that same knob to start/stop. I almost had this with my latest microwave, but alas, you can set the time with the knob and then 'set' the time by pushing the knob. But then you have to do the extra step of pressing a separate 'start' button. Why? why do this? I feel a bit whiney complaining about such a minor thing. But it does bug me everyday. The sheer senselessness of bad design is infuriating. They will make thousands, maybe millions of these things. Put a bit of time in designing it! </end rant>
- yetihehe 3y ago> But then you have to do the extra step of pressing a separate 'start' button. Why? why do this? Probably some consumer tests showed that people had trouble with rotating the knob without pushing it during rotation. Or, pushing the knob sets the time and now you can set the power by further rotating the knob and then pushing start.
- crazygringo 3y agoIn case it helps, I've run into the same types of problems frequently, and YouTube reviews are a godsend. Random people actually film themselves unboxing and using the product, and you can watch what buttons they have to press, etc. Also you can virtually always download the manual as a PDF. Of course that's not a list, and it takes a lot of work. It's deeply unfortunate -- somebody like Amazon could actually implement the kind of comparison matrix you're talking about, but they're not exactly innovating on the UX front. :( (Amazon does sometimes show a comparison matrix of 4 products with something like ~6 rows of features for some products, but I think it's created by the manufacturer, so only compares models for that one brand, and doesn't always list the feature you care about either.)