I tried the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster and never knew I needed a touchscreen toaster until now

The most recent kitchen appliance to get the ‘smart’ treatment is the humble toaster, and I won’t lie, I was completely skeptical about a toaster with smart features – but the Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen 2-Slice Toaster might have changed my mind.

You might be surprised to hear that smart toasters are on the rise. Some models have sensors that monitor your toast to get the right level of browning, while others have memory settings so you get the perfect level of toastiness for your favourite breads. So, while it might sound like a gimmick, a smart toaster could stop you from ever burning your toast again.

The latest brand to join the smart toaster party is Cuisinart. The brand debuted its latest smart toaster at the beginning of the year called the Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen 2-Slice Toaster. As the name suggests, it boasts a colourful touchscreen for simple, versatile controls.

I spent the past few weeks making an unholy amount of toast to test the Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen 2-Slice Toaster and here’s how I got on.

Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen Toaster review: price and availability

The Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen 2-Slice Toaster is available to buy for £59.99 / $59.99 at Cuisinart. Compared to similar ‘smart’ toasters, this model from Cuisinart is much more affordable, and it comes with a three year warranty.

Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen Toaster review: design and features

The Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster is primarily made from stainless steel, including the slots and lever. At the front of the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster is the touchscreen which has on/off controls, defrost, one-slice and +15 seconds programmes at the bottom.

The main touchscreen is split into two with the lever running down the middle. On the left side is six different browning levels while the right side has five bread options – bread, bagel, sourdough, English muffin and fruit bread. The touchscreen is responsive and appears in full colour while in use.

The slots of the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster are extra-wide so you can easily fit thicker cuts of bread into the toaster without the bread tearing or burning. The High-Lift Quickview lever allows you to check on your toast’s progress, and gives an extra lift so you can remove toast without getting your fingers too close to the slots.

When you turn the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster on, the first bread setting will begin to flash which automatically chooses the third browning level. If you wish to change this for a darker or lighter shade, the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster is calibrated to take into account the specific texture and thickness of your bread of choice, and will toast it for a certain length of time to get the best results.

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Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen Toaster review: performance

When I first heard about the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster, I was bemused, as I truly couldn’t understand why you’d want a touchscreen on your toaster! But I really came to love the touchscreen design as – aside from looking great – it offers so many bread customisation options.

I found the six browning levels to be extremely accurate. I toasted almost every type of bread you can think of while using the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster and it always toasted the bread to the right shade while maintaining its integrity. It was particularly good with toasting bagels, as it got the right level of toastiness while keeping the outside soft, springy and not too hard.

I thought the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster could do better with toasting sourdough. While thicker, chunkier pieces of sourdough fit in the toaster with ease, it did come out very lightly toasted – but I suppose that’s where the +15 seconds feature comes in as you can quickly pop it back down for extra toastiness.

The lever on the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster is satisfyingly smooth and quiet. When my toast ‘popped’, it made very little noise which made a change from my old toaster which creaks and pings when I use it! The Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster is also a good size that doesn’t take up much room on the countertop or packed away in cupboards.

A couple negatives I found with the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster was that it gets extremely hot on the outside. Of course, it is using heat to make toast but even during short toasting, the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster got very hot to the touch. The external heat is a problem for me as I don’t leave my toaster out at all times and had to wait a while to put it away. I also thought the cord was quite short.

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Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen Toaster review: verdict

Not everyone will want a touchscreen toaster, but I think you’d be missing out if you didn’t give the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster a try. The touchscreen display is colourful and full of options which gives you much more control over your toast.

I didn’t think I needed that many choices when it came to toasting bread but being able to see how my toast would come out in a colourful graphic made a world of difference and took out a lot of guesswork. It’s easy to use, and has many clever features to ensure you get the best toast every time.

Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL Colour Touchscreen Toaster review: alternatives to consider

If you’re intrigued by a smart toaster, the Sage The Smart Toast is a good alternative to consider. It’s a more basic model than the Cuisinart SimpliTouch Toaster, and has settings like ‘A Bit More’ and ‘A Quick Look’ and a moveable lever to select your bread’s toasting level. An LED light also flashes to show your toast’s browning progress.

If checking your bread’s progress is a priority for you, the Haier I-Master Series 7 Wi-Fi Glass Toaster literally gives you a view inside it with its glass windows. It also has seven browning levels, 12 presets, a countdown timer and a ‘Crispy Side’ option where you can toast bread differently on each side.