Breville Control Freak Home vs NuWave Flex Precision Induction Cooktop

Breville Control Freak Home

Coverage of this exact model comes from a single outlet, Tom's Guide, across two articles — and the two are not independent. The July 2025 piece is a two-week hands-on by U.S. editor-in-chief Mike Prospero; the October 2025 three-cooktop roundup by Camilla Sharman did not test the Breville itself and explicitly relays Prospero's results, adding only design impressions and a different retail price. So the 'sources: 2' counts below mean two articles from one newsroom, not two independent testers. Verified positives: very fast heat-up with steady temperature hold, ingredient/technique presets that auto-set the optimal temperature, and a bundled temperature probe with pot clip. Verified negatives: the price ($1,299 direct at Breville, $1,499 at Crate & Barrel), a contact sensor that small pans struggled to depress, no boiling-water preset, and a chunky knob-based design. No lab instrumentation or standardized test data in either article — the only numbers are the tester's own readouts. (2 sourced reviews, 1 lab-tested.)

Praised: Heats pans very fast and holds a set temperature consistently — the tester rated it as quick as, or quicker than, his gas range; Ingredient and technique preset menus (poultry, salmon, sear, poach) auto-select the optimal temperature, removing guesswork; Bundled detachable temperature probe with pot clip for tracking internal food temperature.

Flagged: Very expensive for a portable cooktop — $1,299 direct from Breville, $1,499 at Crate & Barrel, described as costing as much as some full ranges; Pan-contact sensor must be depressed to switch on; the smallest pan had to be repositioned before registering; No preset for boiling water — the tester had to dial in roughly 230-240 degrees himself to keep a rolling boil.

NuWave Flex Precision Induction Cooktop

No sourced tester review yet.