Revolution R180 is a unique and modern, high tech smart toaster. Today I offer my full review of the Revolution R180 after trying it for myself.
Where to Purchase
You can find the Revolution R180 toaster on Amazon for $349. It can also be purchased direct from the official website (discussed below) for about the same price. As typical with Amazon, prices fluctuate and it was $314 when I bought it.
About Revolution 180
Revolution 180 is stated to be the #1 Smart Toaster for 2022 via Good Housekeeping. The product itself can toast two slices of bread, bagels, waffles, or English muffins through radiant heat. The official product website is revcook.com, which was created back in 2019.
Claims & Features
- Toasts 35% faster than leading premium toasters
- Sears bread without drying
- Has an intuitive touchscreen
- Includes a countdown chime when cooking is completed
Revolution 180 Review
I tested the Revolution 180 toaster alongside the #1 top-selling toaster on Amazon, the Elite Gourmet, for a YouTube video. The front of the Revolution 180 Toaster is quite attractive, with a touchscreen panel in lieu of manual controls. The options include fresh, frozen, and reheat, along with types of bread including bagels, waffles, pastries, and English muffins. Shade level can be set from 1-7, with number 1 being the lightest and number 7 being the darkest. When the toaster is first turned on, it defaults to fresh bread set at number 4. The touchscreen shows an image of what the toast is supposed to look like at each shade level.
There is a gear icon in the upper right-hand corner on the touchscreen that offers additional functions. When the unit is not in operation, there is a screensaver which defaults to the Revolution Cooking logo, but this can be set to show the current time (which is the option I use). To “awaken” the unit, you simply tap anywhere on the touchscreen and the toaster comes back on. For my first test, I tried two slices of Wonder white bread. I set the Revolution 180 toaster to toast on fresh bread, shade level 1, and then selected the start button. The bread then automatically lowered into the toaster, which is aesthetically pleasing to watch.
When toasting was done on Level 1, a pleasant chime was played and the bread automatically raised slowly out of the toaster. The bread on level 1 came out lightly toasted, but not totally even, with one side a little darker than the other. I wouldn’t say it was perfect, but it was certainly acceptable. Compared to the photo displayed on the touchscreen of the toaster, for level-one, in my opinion, I’d say it was in the ballpark of what level 1 was supposed to look like. I liked how there was a 10-second countdown when the toast was almost done. I would say the first round was in the realm of what shade level 1 should be.
I tested each level up through shade level 6, and here’s how they fared:
- Level 2 was the next test and once again it was a little better on one side than the other. Compared to the photo displayed on the touchscreen of the toaster, for level-two, in my opinion it did look about the same.
- Level 3 came out looking pretty close to the photo display on the touchscreen. I would say the backside wasn’t quite as impressive, but the doneness was close to the image on the screen.
- Level 4 looked like the photo display on the touchscreen.
- Level 5 started getting kind of dark, but still looked close to what the photo display on the touchscreen showed, perhaps slightly darker.
- Level 6 I thought would be nice and dark and I was right. Not only did the toast on this one come out dark, but it started to smoke and set off the smoke alarms in my apartment! Because of this I opted to skip Level 7.
I wanted to do a quick test of waffles and bagels to make sure this toaster could handle them. I toasted waffles set on the default settings: Waffle, Frozen, and level 4. The bagels were also set to default settings: Bagel, Fresh, Level 4. Both looked about what I expected, although not completely even.
Overall, the Revolution R180 Toaster may not be the best toaster ever, but it delivers consistent results and a geek factor that is more impressive. I really like the display panel, the countdown, and how it automatically lowers and raises bread in and out of the unit. It has been in my kitchen for a couple weeks now and everyone in my household has raved about it. They are forgiving for slight unevenness because the consensus is that the screen’s helpful shade indicator is worth the slight imperfections. One family member said, “This is the best toaster I’ve ever used.” Clearly, the ability to see about how done toast will be is more coveted than I had expected.
Is it worth over three hundred dollars? I’m not sure. I think most people are going to look at that price and move on to something else. I will say that ever since I’ve placed it on my kitchen counter, I’ve had a lot of compliments. There is just something more enjoyable about making toast with this unit, even if the results are not perfect.
Be sure to check out my review of the Revolution R180 Toaster below.
Alternatives
The Revolution R180 is a good toaster with a slick user interface and enough technology to satisfy gadget geeks everywhere. I probably wouldn’t have paid $300+ for it, but since I have this toaster, I will keep using it. A toaster I would definitely not recommend as an alternative would be the Elite Gourmet Toaster which I compared to the Revolution toaster in the video above. I decided to send that toaster back to Amazon. As of this writing, I have not seen anything like the R180, but if you are set on a smart toaster without the $300 price tag, you may want to give the $70 Gevi Toaster a look.
Update: The Revolution Ended
After using my Revolution toaster almost daily for a little over a year, the control panel began to fail. Initially, parts of the screen appeared blank or showed lines across it. Eventually, the panel failed completely, giving me about 14 months of use before it stopped working altogether. An electrician friend speculated that the control panel might have been positioned too close to the heating element, which could have impacted its durability over time, though this is just a guess. It was a disappointing end for a product that I otherwise really enjoyed.
Your Revolution 180 Toaster Reviews
Have you used the Revolution 180 Toaster before or something like it? Tell me what you think in the comments below.
Updated November 2024