Instant Omni Plus 18L vs Hamilton Beach 31127D Toaster Oven Side-by-Side Comparison
Instant Omni Plus 18L vs Hamilton Beach 31127D Toaster Oven. A comparison between two countertop toaster ovens with no similarities other than their size.
Specifications
Design
The design of the Instant Omni Plus 18L 140-4002-01 Air Fryer Toaster Oven shows attention to detail and makes use of modern technology, which resembles the larger Ninja DT201 a lot. While not perfect, its strong points are more than enough to make up for the minor drawbacks.
Stood out to us were the combination of one nichrome and four quartz heating elements as well as the oven’s powerful convection settings. However, the spacing between the four rack levels made it difficult to place a baking pan to catch drippings while roasting a whole chicken with the rotisserie kit.
The design of the Hamilton Beach 31127D is basic with a simple stainless steel exterior. The oven has a similar capacity as other medium-sized toaster ovens, with greater length and width but less height. Its roll-top door is a unique feature that we found useful.
Usability Comparison
The Instant Omni Plus 18L 140-4002-01 Air Fryer Toaster Oven is the opposite of a simplistic analog unit like the Cuisinart TOA-60. It maximizes its ease of use but that leads to some weak points in and of itself; the same goes for its user control.
The oven’s touchscreen LCD is very easy to operate with all of its separate cooking functions and feature toggles despite having only one master-control knob and a subpar color contrast. Due to insufficient space, however, the cooking chamber can get quite tricky to clean in case of big greasy messes.
Although the Hamilton Beach 31127D doesn’t invest much in convenience, it also doesn't pose any problems. You may not be able to select an exact time and temperature with the analog control knobs, but realistically, you don’t lose much precision.
Performance Test
The performance of the Instant Omni Plus 18L 140-4002-01 Air Fryer Toaster Oven is consistently great. In particular, it’s excellent at baking/ air frying fries and roasting a whole chicken. This is thanks to its great design, strong convection system as well as useful accessories—including an air fryer basket and rotisserie kit.
The Hamilton Beach 31127D did a good job at making toast but struggled with french fries. We suspect its 1400 W power draw isn’t sufficient for its capacity, so it couldn’t quite maintain high temperatures. Of course, the lack of a convection system didn’t help either. A more preferable but still affordable choice could be the Toshiba AC25CEW-BS.
Overall Scores
Pros & Cons
- Informative and eye-catching package
- Smart Programs and cooking status bar
- Electrical safety feature for the door
- Convenient slide-out crumb tray
- Safeguards for all heating elements
- Complimentary app with detailed instructions and numerous recipes
- Helpful toggles
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Roll-top door
- Cool-touch door handle
- Simple control knobs
- Stay-on feature
- Spacious interior
- Touchscreen digital displays need more contrast
- The master-control knob can be confusing
- No convection fan
- No internal lighting
- No safety mechanism for the door
Conclusion
In our performance tests, the Instant Omni Plus 18L consistently produced great results while the Hamilton Beach 31127D’s scores were so-so. On the bright side, the Hamilton did well in making toast where it tied with the Instant.
The Instant has four quartz heating elements and one swirl nichrome heating element which are sufficiently supplied with 1800 Watts of power. Meanwhile, the Hamilton only has four nichrome heating elements and uses 1400 W.
Both ovens have a sturdy build and are made from durable materials. The Instant is equipped with a convection system and interior light. Although the Hamilton has a neat roll-top door, it still has a fairly simple design.
Moreover, the Instant’s LCD touchscreen offers a status bar, automatic features, and unique cooking presets which are all useful. To give credit where credit’s due, the stay-on feature is a nice addition to the simple control dials of the Hamilton.
The Instant Omni Plus 18L, being a smart kitchen gadget, scored a massive victory against the Hamilton Beach 31127D in all aspects. Nonetheless, taking into account the price on top of everything else, the Hamilton is still a solid choice.
Behind the Comparison
Alan Nguyen is a writer and product reviewer at HealthyKitchen101. His major in English language teaching taught him to present concise information. In addition to his cooking hobby, he values the practical aspects of household appliances.
Tuyet Pham is an award-winning Saigonese chef passionate about delicious and healthful foods. At HealthyKitchen101, she develops recipes and collaborates with our Research, Testing, and Review lab to evaluate the performance of cooking appliances. Her assessments add a strong authoritative voice to our product scoring process.
Lap is Head of the Research, Testing, and Review Team (RTR Team) at HealthyKitchen101.com, where he directs and supervises the testing of kitchen gadgets and appliances.
