@abmille@suprchunk you can still turn on, set temp, and cook without subscription. The recipe menus and wifi are paid unless you signed up before the change.
@abmille@braveit1@suprchunk Important to know is that you can connect via bluetooth only and manage only one device without a subscription. For wifi (as braveit1 said) and managing more than one device, you need a subscription. Yeah, you also get recipes, cooking history, and stuff like that with a subscription. OTOH, you can find plenty of sous vide recipes on line and at Anova’s competitors’ websites.
I wouldn’t say it’s janky just because it needs an app. The top-rated (by America’s Test Kitchen) Joule (by Breville) sous vide cooker also needs an app, but no subscription to get full functionality and recipes.
@phelmurh I have only used mine once. I had it set to 140.0°F and the app showed it drifting between 139.7 and 142.8. I did not verify with an independent thermometer.
More research is needed. Perhaps I got very unlucky, and mine was unusually variable. Perhaps I got a very stable one. Maybe I did something wrong.
I’ve been playing around with my Mini cooker for a few hours and here’s what I’ve learned. (tl;dr - it’s an ok cooker and you can’t beat the price)
It works fine and will certainly do the job of sous vide cooking.
There is no way around it: you need the app to use the cooker.
You don’t have to have a subscription even though the first time you run the app it fills the screen with a subscription sign up page. There’s an X in the upper right corner to get rid of that and go to non-subscription mode.
Without a subscription you can set the temperature and a countdown timer. That’s it, but really… that’s all you need.
The app can connect to the cooker with Bluetooth. If you want to connect via wifi, you need a subscription.
For setup the manual says to follow the instructions the app tells you. The app doesn’t tell you diddly squat. What you need to know is that on an Android phone you must have location turned on at all times (don’t know about iPhones) to use the app, and that you press the button on the top and hold it until the indicator pulses white; that puts the cooker into Bluetooth pairing mode.
The app can manage only one device unless you get a subscription, which then allows you to manage more than one.
My opinions…
It appears as if the Mini is discontinued; it isn’t in the list of products on anovaculinary.com. Of note is that all of the products on the web page have a control panel and can be used without the app. I’m wondering if the Mini, their only cooker that doesn’t have a control pane, was an attempt to compete with Joule cookers; they’re app-only without a control panel. Maybe Anova learned users don’t like being screwed out of features by the app’s subscription model?
Some time ago Anova announced they were removing support for older cookers from their app. There was an outrage from users and Anova backpedaled and didn’t do that. If they ever discontinue support for the Mini and don’t publish the control protocol the app and their cookers use so others can build an app, you’ll own a brick instead of a cooker unless you keep an old version of the app around.
The cooker will continue to run even if it loses bluetooth connectivity. I am hoping, but I can’t confirm, that it will maintain the set temperature without being connected, rather than not heating at all or heating continuously.
I have read in a couple of places that without a subscription, the app won’t alert when the countdown timer goes to zero. I can’t confirm
Being a software guy for 30 years, I am 99 percent certain there is no technical reason for the app to require location services, and the resulting compromising of user privacy, to be on all the time when using the app. I understand that there is some Android OS requirement to have location services on for initialization or something like that in the software. I have a bunch of apps that need to do that, but once the app is installed and set up, location services never needs to be turned on again. The Anova Culinary app is the only one that needs it to be turned on all the time, and it certainly doesn’t need your location to do its job. Sounds to me like lazy programmers, a just plain bad software design, or an intentional desire to know your location for marketing purposes.
I’ll update as many of the “can’t confirms” when I actually decide to sous vide something in the next few days.
I have Anova’s original one that I love, but I dropped it and smashed part of its shell, and haven’t fixed it yet. I’ve never used it with the app; its control panel is just fine for me. I’ll use one or the other of these (assuming the older one will work after being repaired) depending on what I’m cooking.
Bottom line: For $20 this is a good enough sous vide cooker, especially considering how expensive most cookers are now. Since it’s 850 watts vs 1000+ for most others, I wouldn’t use it when a big pot of water is needed, like for a roast (which my original Anova does very well!).
Recommendations: This is a tough one. After Anova’s decisions to move some features (wifi, multiple devices) to subscription-only and to discontinue support in the app for older models (even though they backtracked on that), I’m not inclined to trust Anova or give them my business. But, except for the Mini (I think), you can use all of them without the app, so there’s that. Breville, the other big player with their Joule cooker, has one product that is app-only (no subscription needed) and the Android app gets 2.8 stars with more one star reviews that any other. America’s Test Kitchen, though, rates the Joule as their top sous vide cooker and thinks the app is “one of the best we’ve used.” ATK also gave good reviews to cookers from Yedi and Monoprice.
Specs
Product: Anova Precision Cooker Mini Sous Vide
Model: AN300-US00
Condition: New
What’s Included?
Price Comparison
$49.99 at Best Buy
Warranty
2 Year Manufacturer
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Dec 22
This is the janky one, right? That cannot work without the app?
@suprchunk I don’t know from janky, but yes, needs the app.
@suprchunk Correct. I believe most of the features are also behind a pay wall.
@abmille @suprchunk you can still turn on, set temp, and cook without subscription. The recipe menus and wifi are paid unless you signed up before the change.
@abmille @braveit1 @suprchunk Important to know is that you can connect via bluetooth only and manage only one device without a subscription. For wifi (as braveit1 said) and managing more than one device, you need a subscription. Yeah, you also get recipes, cooking history, and stuff like that with a subscription. OTOH, you can find plenty of sous vide recipes on line and at Anova’s competitors’ websites.
I wouldn’t say it’s janky just because it needs an app. The top-rated (by America’s Test Kitchen) Joule (by Breville) sous vide cooker also needs an app, but no subscription to get full functionality and recipes.
Precise!?
@phelmurh I have only used mine once. I had it set to 140.0°F and the app showed it drifting between 139.7 and 142.8. I did not verify with an independent thermometer.
More research is needed. Perhaps I got very unlucky, and mine was unusually variable. Perhaps I got a very stable one. Maybe I did something wrong.
It’s almost like they said what’s the cheapest thing we can make to force people to download and app and subscribe to a service we can come up with?
@olsmeister Considering that the Mini isn’t shown on their webpage anymore, it seems like that strategy was a bust.
I’ve been playing around with my Mini cooker for a few hours and here’s what I’ve learned. (tl;dr - it’s an ok cooker and you can’t beat the price)
My opinions…
It appears as if the Mini is discontinued; it isn’t in the list of products on anovaculinary.com. Of note is that all of the products on the web page have a control panel and can be used without the app. I’m wondering if the Mini, their only cooker that doesn’t have a control pane, was an attempt to compete with Joule cookers; they’re app-only without a control panel. Maybe Anova learned users don’t like being screwed out of features by the app’s subscription model?
Some time ago Anova announced they were removing support for older cookers from their app. There was an outrage from users and Anova backpedaled and didn’t do that. If they ever discontinue support for the Mini and don’t publish the control protocol the app and their cookers use so others can build an app, you’ll own a brick instead of a cooker unless you keep an old version of the app around.
The cooker will continue to run even if it loses bluetooth connectivity. I am hoping, but I can’t confirm, that it will maintain the set temperature without being connected, rather than not heating at all or heating continuously.
I have read in a couple of places that without a subscription, the app won’t alert when the countdown timer goes to zero. I can’t confirm
Being a software guy for 30 years, I am 99 percent certain there is no technical reason for the app to require location services, and the resulting compromising of user privacy, to be on all the time when using the app. I understand that there is some Android OS requirement to have location services on for initialization or something like that in the software. I have a bunch of apps that need to do that, but once the app is installed and set up, location services never needs to be turned on again. The Anova Culinary app is the only one that needs it to be turned on all the time, and it certainly doesn’t need your location to do its job. Sounds to me like lazy programmers, a just plain bad software design, or an intentional desire to know your location for marketing purposes.
I’ll update as many of the “can’t confirms” when I actually decide to sous vide something in the next few days.
I have Anova’s original one that I love, but I dropped it and smashed part of its shell, and haven’t fixed it yet. I’ve never used it with the app; its control panel is just fine for me. I’ll use one or the other of these (assuming the older one will work after being repaired) depending on what I’m cooking.
Bottom line: For $20 this is a good enough sous vide cooker, especially considering how expensive most cookers are now. Since it’s 850 watts vs 1000+ for most others, I wouldn’t use it when a big pot of water is needed, like for a roast (which my original Anova does very well!).
Recommendations: This is a tough one. After Anova’s decisions to move some features (wifi, multiple devices) to subscription-only and to discontinue support in the app for older models (even though they backtracked on that), I’m not inclined to trust Anova or give them my business. But, except for the Mini (I think), you can use all of them without the app, so there’s that. Breville, the other big player with their Joule cooker, has one product that is app-only (no subscription needed) and the Android app gets 2.8 stars with more one star reviews that any other. America’s Test Kitchen, though, rates the Joule as their top sous vide cooker and thinks the app is “one of the best we’ve used.” ATK also gave good reviews to cookers from Yedi and Monoprice.