[rkuska]

I spent (5y ago) so much time searching for induction stove with physical knobs. The touch interface at my previous place was driving me crazy, a slight misalidgment and the stove would beep like it’s end of the world. Luckily Miele produces some at the premium price (or was at the time) but I considered it an investment in my mental health.

[lolinder]

A touch interface on the stove seems like the canonical example of a straightforwardly bad idea. Sure, let's use a capacitive touch interface to control the most dangerous appliance in the kitchen, one which also happens to frequently be the most humid spot and also the most likely to feature splashed oil! What could possibly go wrong?

[redwall_hp]

My favorite design issue with those: capacitive burner controls on the cooking surface mean you can spill something on them and be unable to turn the heat off to clean the thing keeping you from turning the heat off.

[scotty79]

I actually love that I can easily wipe everything when it's dirty. I'd hate cleaning knobs and most of the tactile buttons.

Some touch controls are incredibly good at filtering false inputs. Unfortunately you can't tell which.

[Ekaros]

Oh, and on exactly over what surface we usually lift or holds lids that most certainly have at least some condensation... You know when taking a peek or stirring it for a few seconds...

[account42]

OTOH, a flat surface is easier to clean.

Ideal would be to put the control surface further away from the cooking surface but that won't integrate into semi-standardized kitchen designs.

[KineticLensman]

Totally agree. The controllability of my Nef induction hobs was excellent, but the controls were horrendous. E.g. going from a level 9 rapid heat-up to a level 2 simmer is seven distinct touches. Each with an annoying beep. Related to this is the lack of a single-tap hob-off for an individual hob.

For medical reasons [1] I had to transition from the induction hob to a ceramic hob, and had to choose the Nef equivalent because it had the same physical footprint. So now I have the same crap controls with much worse response time to the control inputs themselves. The ceramic hob also can't detect when a pan has been removed so will leave a hob dangerously hot but not glowing. I've got used to it now but it is very frustrating and still catches me out sometimes.

[1] I have an implanted defibrillator whose sensor is nulled out by an inductions hob's magnetic fields.

[James_K]

A lot of people don't realise that you can push both the up and down button at the same time to set a hob ring to zero intensity. So level 9 to level 2 is actually just three presses.

[Freak_NL]

I raised this topic yesterday in another thread¹ as well. I'm currently eyeing stoves like this:

https://media.s-bol.com/qn6AyQBAxA33/lYREMLg/1198x1200.jpg

(https://etna.nl/keukenapparatuur/fi590zwa/)

As I'll be remodelling the kitchen in any case, going to a stand-alone appliance is fine by me.

There are several models with knobs out there now. It seems to have been picked up as a premium feature.

1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42025123#42025336

[twobitshifter]

https://www.impulselabs.com/

This is a cool one with knobs that can be removed. Never used one, but I liked the idea.

[computator]

Love it. Removable magnetic buttons with flat flush surface underneath that’s just as easy to clean as a touch surface. The only downside is the possibility of losing the knobs.

[r_klancer]

I had this criterion too.

Fortunately by last year the this Café (GE) double oven induction range was available here in the US: https://www.cafeappliances.com/appliance/Cafe-30-Smart-Slide... I have a few quibbles (mainly, that only one of the burners is properly sized for a 12" skillet) but overall I like it.

I don't mind the touch buttons for operating the oven and timers--in fact, they're nice and easy to clean (with a handy "lock screen" feature so you can spray and wipe down the front panel without everything going nuts) but I'm pretty sure trying to fine tune the burner settings using a touch slider while keeping an eye on multiple pans would have driven me nuts. I also have haven't had problems with the knobs getting dirty or being hard to wipe down if they do, to address a point raised in another reply.

Price splits the difference between the entry level ranges and the snobby brands (Miele, Thermador, etc).

[nullwarp]

Bought this same oven and share the same quibbles but otherwise it's been great.

The criteria of knobs on an induction oven filters out quite a lot of options annoyingly.

[scotty79]

I'm currently using Miele with touch controls but it's really good at filtering out false inputs. I have no problem whatsoever even with my messy cooking.

Too bad you have no way of telling how good controls are in a product before you start using them.

[duckmysick]

What's your model?

[coldpie]

I spent like $5k on a Wolf gas range because it was the cheapest one on the market that simply had five knobs for the controls and absolutely nothing else. No computer, no screen, no shitty fake buttons, not even a clock. Worth it.

[walthamstow]

I think you'd have to get a plug-in one, which depending on your local voltage might not be ideal. The commercial ones made by Buffalo have one big knob but are pricey. Tefal make a £100 domestic one with actual buttons.

[marcosdumay]

Of all things, it's a novel kind of stove with the distinctive feature that you can place a piece of plastic just next to the food and it will work fine... Why no designer wants to exploit that feature?

[v1ne]

Yeah, that's also how my long journey with induction cooktops started. My main grief with the induction cooktops was the ergonomics: Most touch surfaces on those cooktops require at least 2 touches: select the flame, then adjust the power. I don't know, that completely breaks the interaction for me. I want something to directly adjust the heat on every single one of the flames, especially when something starts to boil over or fries too fast. In addition, touch often wouldn't register on those, so I have to press longer or harder, both of which is even more inconvenient. No, even more: it outright sucks.

Well, and after years of searching, friends recommended me the AEG models, like IKE64450XB (here in Europe). And honestly, I was happy with the touch surface ever after: It reacts quickly enough and I can modify every flame at an instant. I don't even get a penny for this, I'm just satisfied. So, yeah, touch can be good, like on a smartphone, even on household devices.

On the other side, it's really hit or miss with these touch UIs: I also have an combined washing machine + dryer from the same brand and there I need to press each touch surface for at least half a second, and not touch the metal case of the machine, otherwise the touch wouldn't register. Then, the UI would sometimes hang, but still register touches, playing them back once it has caught up.

[m463]

The Breville Control Freak is pretty cool (but horrendously expensive)

[yurishimo]

Owning 4 of these would be untenable!

[notfed]

This has a touch screen?