This fancy new microwave has cameras all over and might make you feel like you have your own cooking show. I got to witness the beep-boop-beep of the LG Signature Smart Instaview microwave at CES 2025. It's still just a concept for now, LG is hoping to have it hit the market in 2026.
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The Smart Instaview microwave goes far beyond simply having a screen that allows you to follow a recipe or watch your favorite TV show. LG designed it so you can push a button for the automated sensors to get your chicken nuggets perfectly crispy or add your own recipes to the digital display so you can follow along on the screen and bake your grandmother's cookies without having to rummage through a box of deteriorating index cards.
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Whatever you're making, LG's microwave cooktop also wants to help you share it with the rest of the world, if that's your thing. It comes with cameras inside the microwave, above the induction range and facing out into the kitchen, so you can capture your dinner from all angles. It's a cooktop built for TikTok and Instagram -- a perfect tool for culinary content creation.
The LG Signature Smart InstaView microwave lets you spy on your leftovers as they spin around and reheat.
Intelligent cooking sensors
The sensor-based cooking in the microwave looks like it could make life easier if you're an inexperienced cook or if you have children who are just learning to microwave their own fish sticks. Instead of checking the time, the sensor can check the humidity and figure out when something is done, and hopefully avoid overcooking. No more mistakenly putting corn dogs in for 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds.
The demo model I saw included a pretty extensive range of foods that it can cook automatically, including things like shrimp and fish. You can monitor the food inside using the camera, which doesn't sound all that exciting -- the doors of microwaves are somewhat see-through already -- but the picture is a bit better than if you're used to looking through a grimy microwave door.
A big, smart display
The LG Signature Smart Instaview microwave has a 27-inch display capable of full HD, along with speakers for watching videos or scrolling Instagram. The display connects to LG's ThinQ smart home system, meaning you can monitor and manage your other smart home devices from the microwave while you're cooking.
When connected with the LG Signature induction cooktop, the lower camera can allow you to do more than record videos of that stir fry you're cooking. Even without recording, you can use the camera to monitor how things are cooking without having to look down -- or even be next to the range. If you're standing on the other side of the kitchen, you can still get that top-down view of whatever is cooking on the range.
For more from CES 2025, check out the most innovative products from the show that you can actually buy now.