ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

We tend to take many of our appliances for granted, and it's easy to forget what life was like before them. 

A well-designed appliance really can change our lives, freeing us from drudgery and giving us extra time and energy for more meaningful activities. 

The washing machine freed us from slaving over a hot copper and mangle, reducing an entire day (or even days) dedicated to washing down to just a few hours. And dishwashers make short work of multiple loads of washing and drying the dishes by hand (while hiding the dirty dishes in the interim). 

Vacuum cleaners did away with laborious sweeping and beating carpets, and fridges improved food safety and reduced the need to shop as frequently. 

ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳experts deal with hundreds of appliances each year, so they've seen fads come and go. Here are the recent product innovations that they think are game-changers. 

On this page:

• Induction cooktops
• Dehumidifiers
• Coffee machines
• Stick vacuums
• Multi-cookers
• Fitness trackers and smart watches

Induction cooktops

The very idea of induction cooktops sounds like something out of a 1960s sci-fi novel: an electro-magnetic force field that cooks your food. What's next? A box that heats food by vibrating the water molecules? (Oh, wait – that's a microwave.)

But seriously, induction cooking is changing the way we cook and – importantly – the energy that we use to power our cooktops. Gas has typically been considered more environmentally friendly than burning wood or coal, but there's no getting around it: it's still a fossil fuel that creates greenhouse gases. And gas extraction methods also have significant environmental impacts, even before the gas is burned. 

Recent research also points to gas appliances causing poor indoor air quality, which can have a nasty effect on your family's health. 

Induction cooking delivers the responsiveness of gas cooking without those negative environmental and health impacts. (Obviously, induction cooktops still use electricity, but if you have solar panels or you're buying green power you can significantly reduce your environmental impact by using them.)

Induction cooktops actually heat pans faster than gas, and give you better temperature control. They're easier to clean and have safety features like automatic shut-off if a pan boils dry or you remove cookware from the cooking surface. 

Want to know more about induction cooking? Our experts explain how to buy the best induction cooktop. 

Dehumidifiers

With the wild weather conditions of the last few years, dehumidifiers have been in high demand, and it's easy to see why: a damp home can quickly turn into a mouldy health hazard, so an appliance that reduces moisture in the air will make a big difference. 

If you're renting or can't afford to renovate to improve ventilation and structural problems, a dehumidifier is a good investment. And if your home has been affected by a flood, leak or water damage, a dehumidifier can be your saving grace. 

If you can't renovate to improve ventilation and structural problems, a dehumidifier is a good investment

They're not cheap, though, and even some of the expensive ones can be hit-and-miss, so it's really important to make sure you're spending your money on a dehumidifier that works well.

Most of the models our experts recommend cost $500 or more, so if you want a good one, be prepared to spend that or even more. Unfortunately, the cheaper models we've tested tend to perform poorly, with the cheapest dehumidifier we tested scoring just 3% for water removal.

Can't afford one? If you already have air conditioning, you could use the 'dry' mode to remove some moisture from the air. Otherwise, ensuring good air flow using ceiling fans and pedestal fans will help. 

We've also analysed how effective DampRid is compared to a dehumidifier if you're on a tight budget and you only have a mild mould or damp issue. 

Trying to justify the purchase? Your dehumidifier can also do an extra shift in the laundry after it's finished drying out your bathroom. "Besides the obvious first purpose, a good dehumidifier will dry a basket of wet clothes overnight in the laundry room, which has saved us a lot of hassle and dryer use during the wet months," says ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳staffer Tom. 

ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳verifier Wendy uses a dehumidifier in concert with an air purifier at home. "They help keep the mould and allergens down in my house and have improved my indoor air quality so much," she says. 

Coffee machines

Investing in a home espresso machine can save you money over time.

Is it worth buying a home espresso machine? Our cost analysis says yes. 

With the cost of living skyrocketing along with the price of coffee, we predict that more and more Australians will try their hand at home-brewed coffee. 

You don't need to be a barista to produce a tasty coffee at home. Depending on your budget, skill level and just how involved you want to be in the process, you can find the right machine for you, from a basic pod machine to a hands-on manual machine to an automatic machine that does all the work with the press of a button. 

To get you started, we can help you decide which coffee machine is right for you. And then when you're ready to take the plunge (lol), here are the best coffee machines under $600. Or you can read our full home espresso coffee machine reviews to find your perfect match. 

You can nab a decent stick vac for under $250.

Stick vacuums

Doing the vacuuming used to mean dragging out a heavy, cumbersome upright vac and heaving it around the room while gradually becoming industrially deaf from the noisy motor. At least it was a good workout, right?

Stick vacs have revolutionised the way we clean, making quick clean-ups of high-traffic areas possible in less time than it'd take to lug out your heavy vacuum, plug it in and put it away again. 

They're also light and generally easy to manoeuvre, which means that cleaning the kitchen won't wipe you out, so you'll have more energy for other housekeeping tasks (or better yet, leisure activities). 

While you can spend well over $1000 on a stick vacuum, there are cheaper models out there that well and truly deliver suck for your buck. We've rounded up three of the best stick vacs under $250 to help free you from a corded vacuum on the cheap. 

An appliance that makes light work of boring housework? That's definitely a game-changer in our book!

Multi-cookers

First, there was the slow cooker: it revolutionised the way we cook by taking care of dinner while you're out of the house, meaning you could come home to a hot meal after doing some basic prep in the morning.

CHOICE's kitchen experts still swear by slow cookers: they make cooking healthy, cheap, flavoursome meals a cinch; they're affordable to buy and run; and they'll save you money because they're great for batch cooking so you can always pull something out of the freezer instead of buying expensive takeaway. 

If a slow cooker was already a game-changer, the invention of the multi-cooker really took things to the next level. The clever fusion of a slow cooker and a pressure cooker, the multi-cooker is one of the most versatile kitchen appliances you can own, giving you the option to cook low and slow or to bash out dinner quick smart. 

Most multi-cookers now include plenty of other functions too, including steaming, searing, rice cooking, yoghurt making and more. And some multi-cookers now have air frying capabilities, so we can add air frying to that list. There's not much a multi-cooker can't do!

The combination of a multi-cooker and an air fryer is a game-changer

Fiona Mair, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳kitchen expert

"I think multi-cookers are still more useful than a standalone air fryer, but the combination of a multi-cooker and an air fryer is a game-changer," says ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳kitchen expert Fiona Mair.

"Apart from having fewer appliances on your countertops and in your cupboards, they are very versatile, giving you 'dry' and 'wet' forms of cooking.

"Regular multi-cookers are great for long, slow cooking but don't have the ability to crisp or brown foods such as roast meat or veggies. If your multi-cooker has an air fryer function, you can use it for crisping up your roast after slow cooking, making roast veggies and browning and crisping the tops of casseroles and gratins.

"Multi-cookers with air fryers are perfect for kitchens that lack an oven, small kitchens and things like motor homes and RVs."

Our experts put multi-cookers under the microscope in our kitchen lab, assessing their ability to cook chilli beef, lamb shanks, white rice and brown rice, and how easy they are to use and clean – so you can find the best multi-cooker to revolutionise how you cook. 

Fitness trackers and smart watches

Watches used to do just one thing: tell the time. But now there's so much more you can do: record your step count and how far you've run, track your sleep, monitor your heart rate, get alerts for your messages, reply to texts, and even track your location. And they often link to apps so you can see more detailed breakdowns of your activities.

They're essentially a mini smartphone for your wrist. But they're generally not cheap: the models we've tested run from $399 to as high as $1399 for an Apple Watch so make sure you only pay for what you want or need.

While not as versatile, a more affordable option is a fitness tracker or fitness band. They don't do quite as many things as a smart watch, but they're perfect for monitoring your exercise and various aspects of health, such as heart rate and sleep quality.

Some smart watches and fitness trackers can also double as a personal alarm for elderly people or anyone who is at risk of falls or wandering off. 

Dedicated personal alarms can be problematic for a number of reasons – and in fact, we gave the entire product category a Shonky Award for being unreliable and hard to use. But when using the fall detection or health monitoring as an extra feature for a smartwatch or fitness band, it can be a good value add.

"My mother has an Apple Watch, mainly for the fall detection feature," says ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳appliance expert Kim Gilmour.

"Her model has mobile connectivity so she doesn't need her phone nearby if she needs to make or answer phone calls. It also monitors any irregularities in her heartbeat and reminds her to keep moving now and again.

"She hasn't had to use it in an emergency, thank goodness, but she finds it reassuring."

The products that have changed CHOICErs' lives

We asked ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳testers and staff to tell us which products have made the biggest impact on their lives. Here's what they said. 

• It's a steam mop for me. No more big buckets of soapy water and a wet floor that takes hours to dry. – Laura
• My Vitamix. I use it every single day, multiple times a day, and it's a godsend especially if you're on a health kick or have little kids. I use it to make purees, smoothies and popsicles, to whizz up berries for yoghurt or porridge, and for making soup. It's great to help you get a wider variety of ingredients into your diet, and it's so powerful that everything is blitzed in seconds. – Pru
• I have two favourite products, and both are for the same reason: speed. My portable induction cooktop boils a saucepan of water or heats a frypan so much faster than our old electric cooktop elements. And when you have hungry children at dinnertime, an air fryer is a saviour as it cuts down the cooking time dramatically. – Danny
• A recent purchase that has changed my life is my water flosser (aka water pick) – it's made a real difference to my dental health. – Chris
• The auto-doser on my washing machine was a real game-changer and the absence of one would now be a deal-breaker if we had to replace this machine. It's not just the convenience of not having to dose it manually each time, it was more about the chemical safety and spillage aspect if you have younger children. Having the auto-doser meant I could delegate the kids to do their own washing while they were still fairly young… what a time-saver that's been! – Deanna
• A good-quality coffee grinder is a must-have for me. Yes, it's an additional cost and a whole extra appliance sitting on your bench but you just cannot beat freshly ground coffee vs pod or pre-ground. And it's still way cheaper than buying a coffee every day! – Rebekah
• I used to loathe cleaning windows or any kind of glass but my window vac makes it so much faster and simpler. It never leaves streaks and cuts the job down to about a third of the time. – Chris
• My electric toothbrush – it pulses every 30 seconds so I move to a different quadrant and get the full two minutes of brushing without having to time myself. Is that incredibly dorky? – Marg
• My husband loves the smart tap timer. It checks whether it's going to rain and if sufficient rain is likely, it lets you know that the sprinklers won't run. But you can override this via the phone app, and you don't even have to be anywhere nearby – you can do it from the pub or while out to dinner! – Deanna
• Blenders are a game-changer because they allow you to take in a lot of fruit, vegetables and protein in smoothie form. – Vincent
• Stick blenders with interchangeable attachments are essentially several appliances in one. They're more cost-effective, easier to clean and take up way less space than having a food processor, stick blender and stand mixer in the kitchen. – Rebekah
• Getting mesh Wi-Fi saved us in my former sharehouse during lockdown. – Rafi
• The one for us is the carpet shampooer. With toilet training and two dogs, it has been the best. It's oddly satisfying to see how much dirt comes out. – Amanda
• In terms of tech, simply being able to share and sync dates and appointments in each other's calendars has been a big home-life admin upgrade. – Tracy

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

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