Top gifts for smart home chefs in 2018

Google Home Hub

CNET rating (out of 5)

4.5 stars (outstanding)

THE GOOD The responsive touchscreen works well with Google Assistant, whether you ask for help on a recipe or check what’s on your calendar. Pictures and videos look particularly crisp thanks to an ambient light sensor that adapts the screen brightness and warmth to match the room.

THE BAD The sound quality is fine for background music, but nowhere near the level of other smart displays like the Amazon Echo.

THE COST $149

BOTTOM LINE It’s affordable, and quite useful as a digital assistant (especially in the kitchen), a photo frame and a smart home control panel.

Instant Pot Ace blender

CNET rating (out of 5)

4 stars (excellent)

THE GOOD It pulverized a variety of foods during testing, including almonds, spinach pesto and smoothies. The pitcher contains a built-in heater so you can cook and blend food simultaneously, which works well for soups, baby foods and dairy alternatives like rice milk. And the preset modes are useful to make commonly blended foods with the press of a button.

THE BAD There are no manual controls if you want to use the heater without using a preset blending mode.

THE COST $99

BOTTOM LINE A useful and affordable appliance to add to your kitchen countertop.

June Intelligent Oven

CNET rating (out of 5)

3.5 stars (very good)

THE GOOD This second generation of the oven can recognize more foods than its predecessor thanks to a built-in camera and smartphone-like software. The Wi-Fi-connected countertop appliance also has more cooking programs and opportunities to tweak settings to get your food the way you like it.

THE BAD The oven has a tendency to slightly undercook foods, though it’s easy to add more cook time.

THE COST $599

BOTTOM LINE This would make a fun and useful addition to your kitchen, especially as the company continues to update the oven’s software.

Simple Chef HF-898 Air Fryer

CNET rating (out of 5)

3.5 stars (very good)

THE GOOD The air fryer was the most affordable cooker we tested, and one of the easiest to keep clean. It never undercooked our food.

THE BAD None of the food tested came anywhere close to deep-fried indulgence.

THE COST $74.99

BOTTOM LINE This is a perfectly respectable cooker, but like other air fryers, it doesn’t offer much more than the common toaster oven.

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The following CNET staff contributed to this story: senior editor Laura K. Cucullu, senior associate editors Ry Crist and Andrew Gebhart, and former CNET staff member Ashlee Clark Thompson. For more reviews of personal technology products, visit cnet.com.