Smart Appliances & Sous Vide

The connected-appliance page. For the sister thermometer page see Connected Thermometers; for kitchen scales see Smart Kitchen Scales; for HA-side integration see Home Assistant Add-ons; for the firmware-platform layer see IoT Firmware Platforms and ESPHome / Tasmota; for HVAC-flavored cousin see HVAC, Thermostats & IR Climate.

Sous vide / immersion circulators

• ★ Anova Precision Cooker (3.0 / Pro) — paid hardware; app remains free despite a 2024 attempt to charge $2/mo for app access (rolled back after backlash and a class action). The default sous vide circulator. WiFi + BT.
  • https://anovaculinary.com
• Inkbird Sous Vide ISV-100W / 200W — paid; cheaper; basic app; reliable; growing share.
• Joule (ChefSteps) — sunset post-Breville acquisition; abandoned 2023; do not buy.
• PolyScience Creative / Sansaire — paid; pro / prosumer; quieter than consumer units.
• Wancle — paid; budget; reliable enough.

The 2024–2025 Anova app saga is the cautionary tale of "you don't own connected hardware." The Anova Pro 5.0 launch added a paid-tier subscription pitch that violated buyer expectations; consumer pushback (and a settlement) reverted it but trust is dented. The hardware still works locally over BT; the cloud features are the at-risk part.

Multicookers / pressure cookers

• ★ Instant Pot Pro Plus / Smart WiFi — paid; ubiquitous; the WiFi models phone home to a closed cloud; the non-WiFi models are the same hardware without the connectivity gimmick. The connectivity is rarely worth it.
• Ninja Foodi (smart models) — paid; mostly closed cloud.
• Breville Fast Slow Pro — paid; not strictly smart; excellent.
• Mealthy MultiPot — paid; budget; less smart layer.

Honest take: most "smart" multicookers add a step (open app, schedule, push start) that's slower than walking to the device. The cooking is identical.

Smart ovens

• Anova Precision Oven — paid; combi steam; cult following; first-party app strong.
• Brava — paid; light-cooking oven; subscription-flavored recipes; closed cloud.
• Tovala — paid + meal-kit-locked; subscription model.
• June Oven — sunset; do not buy.
• Wolf / Bosch / Miele connected — paid premium; closed cloud; some have HA integration via their respective brand integrations.
• Samsung Family Hub / Bespoke ovens — closed cloud; smart-fridge-flavored ecosystem.

Smart cooktops / induction

• Hestan Cue — paid; sensor-driven pan + cooktop combo; hand-holding cooking. Niche.
• CookingPal Julia — paid; food-processor + smart-cook display; Thermomix-shape.
• Thermomix TM6 — paid (~$1500); closed; cult-popular in EU; cooks-and-thinks-for-you appliance.

Espresso / coffee equipment

• ★ ★ Decent Espresso DE1+ / Pro — paid (~$3,000+); open API; tablet-driven; logs every shot; pairs with Acaia. The hacker-friendly espresso machine. Genuinely transparent / scriptable.
  • https://decentespresso.com
• Breville Bambino Plus / Barista Pro / Touch Impress — paid; closed; the consumer-default.
• La Marzocco Linea Mini / Micra — paid; iconic; some app integration; closed.
• Aillio Bullet R1 / R2 V2 — paid; coffee roaster (not espresso); paired with Artisan Roaster Scope. See Coffee Roasting & Tracking.
• Niche Zero / Niche Duo — paid grinder; not "smart" but the prosumer-grinder default.
• DF64 / Eureka Mignon — paid grinders; varying smart-ness.

Smart fridges / freezers

• Samsung Family Hub — paid; the screen-on-the-door category; Whisk / Samsung Food integration; closed cloud.
• LG ThinQ — paid; limited compressor / temp stats.
• Liebherr SmartDeviceBox — connectivity add-on for premium fridges.

The "camera in the fridge tells you what you're out of" pitch remains 90% marketing in 2026. Inventory by photo is still a research demo, not a product.

Smart kettles

• Fellow Stagg EKG / EKG Pro — paid; ★ best variable-temp kettle for coffee; iOS / Android app; reliable BT. The hardware is great; the app is optional.
• Cosori, Smarter iKettle — paid; varying.

DIY / FOSS / API'd

• ★ gaggiuino — open hardware controller for Gaggia Classic / Silvia; pressure / flow / temperature curves; logs to a tablet. The DIY espresso path.
  • https://gaggiuino.click
• bambino-mod / breville-app-replacements — community firmware; varying.
• Home Assistant smart-cooker integrations — Anova (BT local), Instant Pot (cloud), Decent (local), Anova Oven (closed but improving).
• ESPHome temperature-controlled circulators — DIY sous vide; ~$50 in parts; viable.

Cleanup / dishwashers / etc.

• Bosch Home Connect — closed cloud; HA integration exists.
• Miele @home — same shape.
• GE Profile / Smart HQ — closed cloud.
• Most appliances expose surprisingly little: cycle status, error codes, "send me a notification when done." Worth $0 to most people; nice to have.

License / cloud-dependence reality

• ★ Decent Espresso, gaggiuino — actually open / local-first.
• Anova — local BT works; cloud features at-will.
• Instant Pot, Ninja, Brava, Tovala — closed cloud; subscription drift risk.
• Most premium oven brands — closed; HA via brand SDK.
• Samsung / LG — closed; ecosystem-locked.

Practical guidance

• ★ Skip "smart" for multicookers. The non-smart Instant Pot does the same job for less money.
• Buy connected for sous vide and ovens, where remote start + temp curves matter. Set-and-walk-away cooking is the legitimate win.
• Decent is the only fully open premium appliance. Worth the price if you're tinkery.
• Local BT > cloud WiFi. Cloud features die; BT works at the kitchen counter for years.
• Don't trust "AI cooking modes." Marketing layer; the underlying hardware is what matters.
• HA integration: which brand it is matters far more than spec sheets. Bosch and Miele integrate; Whirlpool barely does.

Pick this if…

• Default sous vide: Anova Precision Cooker (knowing the cloud trust gap).
• Cheap sous vide: Inkbird ISV-100W.
• Combi steam oven: Anova Precision Oven.
• Pressure / multicooker: Instant Pot non-WiFi model.
• Espresso, hacker-friendly: Decent Espresso or gaggiuino-modded Gaggia.
• Variable-temp kettle: Fellow Stagg EKG.
• HA dashboard ambition: stick to Bosch / Miele / Anova / Decent for actual integrations.