This week Tovala debuted a new countertop cooking appliance, the multifunction Tovala Smart Oven Air Fryer. The new appliance is the first new hardware from the company since it unveiled the second-generation smart steam oven in 2018.
Some readers may be thinking, ‘wait, didn’t Tovala release an air fryer last fall?’ Well, they did introduce air frying, but it was as a retrofit upgrade to the gen 2. Because the gen 2 Tovala had convection (a built-in fan for air circulation), they could add air frying through a software upgrade and an air fry basket.
With the new Smart Oven Air Fryer, they’ve built an entirely new appliance designed around its air fry capability.
“Our engineering team redesigned the oven’s airflow system by introducing a 2-speed motor, and a larger fan blade and vent in order to accomplish max air frying power in this oven,” said Maggie Condon, Tovala head of communications, in an email with The Spoon. “These adjustments allow for more air to circulate throughout the oven and around your food faster, creating a stronger, crispier air fry experience. With these changes, we introduced a designated Air Fry setting on the oven and in the Tovala App.”
With the release of the new air fryer, the Tovala gen 2 appliance – with its steam capability and retrofitted air fry function – has been renamed the Tovala Pro.
Interestingly, the new Tovala appliance is the first without steam capability, which has long been one of the most popular features of Tovala ovens. Judging by a recent conversation on a Tovala user group page on Facebook, some are confused about whether the just-announced Tovala has steam built in and how it compares to the now-renamed Pro version.
So why release a new appliance without steam? My guess is the company did it due to the popularity of air frying; even with the upgrade to the second-generation appliance, many customers still probably didn’t realize it had its new function since air frying was not on the function dial. With the new Tovala Smart Oven Air Fryer, the steam option goes away, and air fry has been added.
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