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Why every microwave sucks these days

moth.monster

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Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#11

Post by ForkMeOnTinder »

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.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#14

Post by da768 »

Got a Breville recently, seemed like the only units that weren't the same as every others out there... Not sure it's more durable, but at least it's super quiet, I can mute beep sounds, I can change time and power while food is cooking, and it's got a stainless interior so there's no cheap paint that'll start falling off after a few months.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#16

Post by kelseyfrog »

scblock wrote: post #6

There's no "why" in this "why" post.

It was easy for me to spot the why, so I'll distill it.

Once a market is saturated and business growth can't continue by selling more of the product(see microwaves), growth occurs through M&A(consolidation) or reducing costs(eg: removing the moisture sensor). The author reflects on the microwave market having single supplier Midea as an example of the former, and their removal of the moisture sensor as an example of the latter.

Naturally, the author asks, "what are the incentives that create these behaviors?" They identify the economic structure as the proximal cause of these incentives. Thus concluding that the economic structure that creates microwave markets ultimately concludes in the creation of the shitty microwaves.

The author extrapolates this to the multicooker market a la InstantPot - a bonus predictive why InstantPot will get shitty soon.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#17

Post by notacoward »

I have a Panasonic "Genius" microwave that I actually like quite well. The "inverter technology" does seem to cook more evenly than previous microwaves I've had, and the "air fryer" (not really) mode works very well for a bunch of frozen things that should be a bit crisp on the outside (e.g. samosas or taquitos). Day old fries often come out better than they were when fresh.

Is it an amazing indispensable life-changing invention? No. But does it suck? Also no. The premise of the article is seriously flawed, and comes across as somebody who just didn't like anything but old-fashioned stove cooking (probably by someone else) in the first place.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#18

Post by gobins »

ForkMeOnTinder wrote: post #11

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 aft…

The 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.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#19

Post by zeteo »

I got rid of my microwave several years ago and don't miss it anymore. (It took a while to get used to its absence.) I still have an Instant Pot but use it very rarely, maybe once a month. Investing in a high quality set of pots and pans has made up for it: copper pots for things that need to be heated quickly (e.g. boiling water, which is almost as fast as the microwave in a copper pot) and high-quality cast iron for things that need to be heated thoroughly (e.g. frying, baking). I also own a toaster oven because I'm too lazy to toast bread in the frying pan :) That one is electronic, but you can still get analog toaster ovens I believe.
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