Panasonic’s new range of rice cookers and microwave ovens will eschew the common practice of cramming appliances with as many options as the manufacturers can possibly fit, responding to customer feedback that suggests that many people don’t want to have to pilot a navigation board akin to a spaceship just to cook some rice.
Instead Panasonic’s new rice cookers and microwaves will allow customers to choose three main modes from a lineup of 25, and toggle and add others later via the smartphone app.
“Even if there are multiple modes, customers actually only use two or three,” a Panasonic marketing manager said.
This is in response to a user survey that found 60 per cent of people never use most of the options installed into their appliances.
“The entire industry has become tired of the cutthroat spec and price race, which isn’t in the interest of consumers,” said Shigeru Dohno, vice president of the appliances company within Panasonic.
