9 Smart Kitchen Gadgets That Will Actually Make Cooking Feel Futuristic
If your home already hums with smart lights and voice-controlled music, the kitchen is the next room begging to be upgraded. This year’s sales have turned the cooking space into a playground for elegant automation, useful sensors, and appliances that learn your preferences. From countertop ovens that recognize the roast you just slid in, to kettles that heat to the exact degree for your single-origin brew, these deals are an invitation to make the everyday feel a little bit magical.
Below you will find nine smart kitchen picks that are worth the space on your counter and a spot in your routines. I tested each with a focus on real-world usability: how it integrates with the wider smart home, what the apps actually do, why the automation matters, and who will get the most joy from buying in. Think of this as a curated edit for people who want their kitchen to be intuitive, efficient, and a little bit future-forward.
June Oven: The countertop appliance that thinks for you
What it is and why it stands out. The June Oven is the countertop multitasker that replaced a toaster oven, an air fryer, and a slow cooker in my small kitchen. It blends thermal sensors, a built-in camera, and machine learning to identify what you are cooking. Tell the app you want crispy chicken or a flaky croissant, and June chooses time and temperature, then adapts mid-cycle if needed.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The object recognition and live camera feed are the showpieces. The oven recognizes food down to common cuts and presets a program. If you are someone who likes precision without reading charts and tables, that automation saves time and removes guesswork. The app also keeps presets, and you can control it remotely or nudge the profile if you prefer extra crisp.
Who it is best for. Urban cooks with limited kitchen space, people who like tech that reduces friction, and anyone who wants great results without memorizing cooking charts. If you enjoy tinkering, you can also build custom programs to refine things further.
What it feels like to use. Putting a roast inside and watching the oven classify it felt like giving instructions to a helpful sous-chef. The UI is clean, communication from the oven is reassuring, and the results are consistently even. If you want a full-range smart oven, June is not a drop-in replacement for a wall unit, but as a countertop brain it is impressive.
Anova Precision Cooker Nano: Sous vide made serene and social
What it is and why it stands out. The Anova Precision Cooker Nano is a Wi-Fi sous vide circulator that brings restaurant-precision temperature control into the home. It clamps to any stockpot and holds temperature to a fraction of a degree. That may sound niche, but the payoff is reliably perfect proteins, custards, and even vegetables with new textures and flavors.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The app includes guided recipes with time and temperature presets, plus step-by-step photos so you do not have to think about timing or thaw status. With Wi-Fi connectivity you can start your cook from the grocery store, check progress remotely, and get push notifications when the bath is ready. For people who schedule dinner around life, that remote start capability changes everything.
Who it is best for. Food obsessives, batch-cookers, and precision seekers. It is also brilliant for anyone who hosts: set the bath early, finish with a sear, and guests get flawless results. It is not ideal if you want instantaneous meals, because sous vide rewards patience.
What it feels like to use. The Nano is deceptively simple: clip, fill, and launch. The app streamlines the learning curve, and the quiet operation means it becomes part of your kitchen soundtrack rather than an intrusive machine. On sale, it becomes a no-brainer for curious cooks.
Ember Temperature Control Mug 2: Tiny tech, huge ritual upgrade
What it is and why it stands out. The Ember Mug is a deceptively small piece of technology that changes the way you experience coffee and tea. It keeps beverages at a chosen temperature for hours, controlled through a polished app and adaptive temperature algorithms. That means your first sip is never a compromise between too hot and tepid.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The combination of long battery life and precise heating makes it feel like the cup is thinking about you. Set your preferred drinking temperature in the app, and every refill will be judged by that standard. Integration with smart home routines means your morning brew can be at the right temperature by the time your lights come on.
Who it is best for. Remote workers, people who savor coffee slowly, and anyone who has ever scalded their tongue on a too-hot latte and cursed themselves. This is less useful for espresso aficionados who prefer to drink immediately.
What it feels like to use. The Ember mug adds an element of delight to a morning routine. It is ceramic finished, feels premium in hand, and the app is refined rather than clunky. When it is on sale, it becomes a perfect gift or a small, highly repeatable luxury to keep at your workstation.
Cosori Smart Wi-Fi Air Fryer: Crisp results without babysitting
What it is and why it stands out. Air fryers have evolved from one-trick wonders into connected, multifunction machines. The Cosori Smart Wi-Fi Air Fryer pairs rapid convection heating with an app that includes hundreds of presets, family-friendly recipes, and voice control compatibility. It is roomy enough for a full tray and compact enough for most counters.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The app-driven presets and remote monitoring are the real conveniences. You can preheat before you get home, start a program while finishing a work call, and receive a notification to shake or flip. It removes uncertainty from fast household cooking, and the cleaned-up, trayable design cuts down post-meal time.
Who it is best for. Busy households, parents who want fast but healthier weeknight dinners, and anyone replacing a small oven. If you rarely cook at home, the footprint and learning curve might feel like more maintenance than reward.
What it feels like to use. In daily life the Cosori becomes a reliable workhorse. It is forgiving for novice cooks but satisfying for the more practiced chef who wants a quick crisp finish. On sale, it is the pragmatic upgrade that saves both time and cleanup.
Instant Pot Smart WiFi: A modern pressure cooker that actually connects
What it is and why it stands out. The Instant Pot Smart WiFi keeps everything that made the Instant Pot a kitchen staple and adds app-driven controls and cloud recipes. This translates into a pressure-cooking experience that is accessible from anywhere and syncs with curated cooking programs designed to take the guesswork out of beans, stews, and grains.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The remote monitoring and recipe library are the killer features. You can start a program while still finishing work, tweak pressure levels from your phone, and receive detailed cook progress. For those who like to batch cook or program a meal in the morning, the Wi-Fi features remove friction from day-to-day cooking.
Who it is best for. Home cooks who want fast results with minimal babysitting, apartment dwellers who need multi-function equipment, and anyone who values a vast recipe ecosystem. If you prefer artisanal slow-cooking without automation, this may feel like overengineering.
What it feels like to use. The Instant Pot’s tactile interface remains satisfying, but the app adds convenience rather than replacing the physical controls. On sale, it is a great way to upgrade a basic pressure cooker into an integrated kitchen appliance that can be part of your daily tech routine.
Smarter iKettle or Smart Kettle: Precision boiling for the tea and coffee obsessed
What it is and why it stands out. Smarter kettles bring temperature control, scheduling, and integration into a vessel that used to be an analog afterthought. Whether you are brewing delicate green tea that needs 175 degrees or setting an exact temperature for pourover coffee, these kettles remove the uncertainty. A scheduled start lets you come downstairs to water at the ideal heat.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The temperature presets tailored to beverage type, plus voice and app control, are what turns brewing into a ritualized experience. Integration with routines means your kettle can be part of a morning scene: lights dim, playlist starts, and the kettle reaches brew temperature at the cue.
Who it is best for. Tea connoisseurs, specialty coffee drinkers, and people who run morning routines like production cues. If you only ever make instant coffee and drink it fast, a smart kettle is a luxury rather than a necessity.
What it feels like to use. The experience is quietly pleasing: it makes a small but consistent improvement to your day. On sale, a smart kettle is one of the highest impact small purchases for a connected kitchen.
Drop Scale: Where recipes meet precision
What it is and why it stands out. The Drop Scale is a Wi-Fi connected kitchen scale built around interactive recipes. It measures, prompts, and adapts, letting the app guide you through a recipe with timers and visuals. For bakers, this changes recipes from a source of anxiety into an intuitive, hands-on process.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The platform’s interactive recipes automatically adjust ingredient amounts by weight and give step-by-step direction, making scaling up or down seamless. The scale also integrates with other smart kitchen devices, and the app stores favorite recipes so repeat bakes become easy rituals.
Who it is best for. Bakers, home cooks who appreciate precision, and people converting handwritten family recipes into consistent results. If you prefer approximations or batch-style cooking where weight is irrelevant, a connected scale may not matter as much.
What it feels like to use. Using Drop in the kitchen feels like having a patient instructor guiding you. It removes a lot of the guesswork in baking and elevates the result with reliable precision. During sales this accessory is an underrated way to bring professional habits to your counter.
Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator: The smart command center for family life
What it is and why it stands out. The Samsung Family Hub is a refrigerator with a large touchscreen on the door, internal cameras, voice control, and a suite of family-friendly apps. It is a hub for shopping lists, shared calendars, and recipes, and with internal cameras you can check what is inside while grocery shopping to avoid impulse buys.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The combination of inventory snapshots, meal planning, and integration with smart assistants is what makes the refrigerator more than a cold box. When paired with smart lighting and voice assistants it becomes a kitchen command center: you can call up a recipe, preheat a connected oven, or set a timer without touching anything dirty.
Who it is best for. Busy families, people who entertain, and anyone who wants a highly integrated kitchen. If you rent or change kitchens often, the long-term commitment and higher price may feel restrictive.
What it feels like to use. The Family Hub makes the kitchen feel more social and organized. It does not replace a smartphone, but for families it becomes a shared surface where communication and meal planning happen organically. If the price is softened by a sale, it becomes a compelling upgrade for homes that value both style and coordination.
Nespresso Vertuo Next or Smart Coffee Machine: Coffee crafted, not coerced
What it is and why it stands out. Single-serve coffee machines like the Nespresso Vertuo Next have added connectivity so your machine can learn preferences and order capsules automatically when supplies run low. The result is café-quality single-serve coffee with an unobtrusive app that tracks usage and suggests maintenance.
Smart feature that delivers the wow. The automatic capsule reordering and usage analytics turn your morning habit into a seamless service. For people who value consistency and convenience, having the machine sync with inventory and maintenance reminders means fewer midweek coffee crises.
Who it is best for. Urban professionals, apartment dwellers, and people who appreciate a fast, consistent coffee ritual. If you prize grind-to-cup rituals or zero-waste brewing, single-serve systems may feel like a compromise.
What it feels like to use. The experience is efficient and almost luxurious: a button, a cup, and excellent crema. When on sale, the smart features make Nespresso machines feel more premium and less disposable.
Smart kitchen gadgets are different from regular appliances because they promise ongoing value through software and integration. That means your purchase decision has two layers: hardware quality and the ecosystem it lives in. Before hitting buy on a sale price, think about what you want the kitchen to do for you. Do you want an appliance that reduces effort, or one that makes the process more enjoyable? Do you want remote start and automation, or deep manual control and customizability?
If you already own connected lights, thermostats, or voice assistants, look for products that play nicely with those services. Devices that support common protocols, or that integrate with Alexa, Google Assistant, or HomeKit, will feel like extensions of your home rather than islands. Also consider longevity: companies that offer frequent firmware updates and have a history of maintaining app support are more likely to keep improving the product after you buy.
Finally, consider small, high-impact upgrades first. A smart kettle or an Ember mug changes your daily ritual for a modest investment. A connected oven or refrigerator is a larger commitment but can reframe how your whole household cooks and coordinates. With many of these items on sale for 2026, it is an excellent time to future-proof the kitchen with gear that adds convenience, reduces waste, and brings a little enchantment to the everyday.
These nine picks are places to start. They range from small, delightful luxuries to serious integrations that turn the kitchen into a control center. On sale, any of them can be the piece that nudges your home from merely smart to genuinely intuitive. That is the promise of connected living: not more devices for their own sake, but a home that anticipates, supplements, and enhances how you live, one beautifully engineered appliance at a time.
