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I Used an App to Turn On a Microwave at CES and I Can't Stop Thinking of New Ways to Use This

Maybe it's the ultimate party trick to have pizza rolls ready without leaving the living room. This microwave can do a lot more.

Headshot of Jon Reed
Headshot of Jon Reed
Jon Reed Senior Editor
Jon Reed is a senior editor covering artificial intelligence. He previously led CNET's home energy and utilities category, with a focus on energy-saving advice, thermostats and heating and cooling. Jon has more than a decade of experience of writing and reporting, including as a statehouse reporter in Columbus, Ohio, a crime reporter in Birmingham, Alabama, and as a mortgage and housing market editor for TIME's former personal finance brand, NextAdvisor. When not asking people questions, he can usually be found half asleep trying to read a long history book while surrounded by multiple cats. You can reach Jon at joreed@cnet.com
Expertise artificial intelligence, home energy, heating and cooling, home technology
Jon Reed
2 min read
A person's hand holds a phone with a recipe on it in an app.

A Panasonic representative let me turn on a microwave from an app to make these imaginary cookies.

 Jon Reed/CNET

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.

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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.

A silver microwave sitting on a table with a black tablecloth.

The Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 Multi-oven is a microwave, broiler, air fryer and convection oven all in one.

 Jon Reed/CNET

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.