There wasn’t any food inside the Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 Multi-oven microwave I saw at CES 2025, but we pretended we were making something — gluten-free and vegan chocolate chip cookies. The Panasonic app walked us through the shopping list and the steps to mix the cookies, and then it came time to turn on the convection oven aspect of this countertop appliance. I wasn’t even within arms reach of it. I just tapped a button on the phone.
Why would I ever want to turn on the microwave with my phone? I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and pressing the button on the microwave is among the easiest things to do.
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This is no ordinary microwave. The 4-in-1, which has already been on the market, also works as an air fryer, a convection oven and a broiler. It can even do more than one of those in one cook — maybe you microwave the pizza rolls first to warm them up and then air fry at the end to get them crispy on the outside. Nobody wants a soggy pizza roll. A Panasonic rep told me it typically retails for $529.
Sometimes you need to time your cooking. You can stage something in the microwave/air fryer/convection oven/broiler and have it ready to cook when the moment is right. Then you can press a button when you’re five minutes away from wanting something ready.
I thought about how many times I’ve been working from home and wanted to get something ready in the air fryer, but I’ve got a block of virtual meetings keeping me tied to the office. Or if I’m setting a table in the other room, or entertaining guests and don’t want to leave the room just to turn on the microwave and come right back. With a feature like this, I could prep something during one gap between meetings and press the button to start the cook when it’s almost time for one to end.
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