Instant Omni Plus 18L vs Toshiba AC25CEW-BS Toaster Oven Side-by-Side Comparison
Instant Omni Plus 18L vs Toshiba AC25CEW-BS Toaster Oven. The best smart medium-sized or the best-value countertop convection toaster oven? Choose wisely.
Specifications
Design
The Toshiba Toaster Oven AC25CEW is light, sturdy, and boasts a good design that encompasses its accessories. Features that stand out for us are its many ventilation holes, sturdy stands, and lightweight structure.
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.
Usability Comparison
The Toshiba AC25CEW Toaster Oven isn’t difficult to use but it’s not particularly convenient either. The accessories show signs of attention to detail but not so much the user interaction.
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.
Performance Test
The Toshiba Toaster Oven AC25CEW did well in all of our performance tests, mainly thanks to its convection system. It also got plus points for the convenient accessories, putting it above many of the same-sized units, e.g., the Hamilton Beach 31127D.
We thought its results in toasting bread, roasting a whole chicken, and baking french fries could have been better with a higher power output though. Surprisingly, it was excellent at baking pizza despite its 1500 W of power.
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.
Overall Scores
Pros & Cons
- Highly affordable
- Good value in terms of functionality and accessories
- Lightweight but sturdy design
- Easy-to-turn knobs
- High-contrast digital display
- Cool-touch door handle
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- 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
- No safety mechanism for the door
- Convection fan isn’t all-applicable
- No internal lighting
- Touchscreen digital displays need more contrast
- The master-control knob can be confusing
Conclusion
The Toshiba AC25CEW-BS did reasonably well in all of our performance tests. However, the Instant Omni Plus 18L consistently produced greater results and even excelled in roasting a whole chicken and baking french fries. In contrast with the simple LCD display and analog controls of the Toshiba, the Instant Omni Plus features a touchscreen with a status bar and automatic reminders.
Interestingly, both have extra unique cooking functions with one difference being the dehydrate function from the Instant Omni Plus and defrost function from the Toshiba. However, the Instant can be adjusted to 85°F giving it a wider temperature range than the Toshiba.
Both have 3 tray levels with indicators on the glass door but the Instant Omni Plus also has an interior light — while the other doesn’t. Both have a rotisserie kit and the Instant Omni Plus further has an air fryer basket while the Toshiba provides a rack clamp. The former is built with a slide-out crumb tray while the latter has a removable one.
In all fairness, in making use of modern technology to increase convenience, the Instant Omni Plus falls victim to the very flaws of said aspect. On the other hand, the Toshiba doesn’t offer much but also doesn’t take away much in terms of usability.
The Instant Omni Plus 18L is an ideal smart kitchen gadget for the tech-savvy at a reasonable price. Meanwhile, the Toshiba AC25CEW-BS is an inexpensive and well-rounded piece of equipment.
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.
