Anova charges a monthly or annual fee to use the “smart” features of its well-regarded. The subscription cost begins August 21 and applies to the proprietary app that controls the wireless functionality. In other words, you can’t control the device remotely without paying for it.

The subscription price isn’t exactly exorbitant at $2 a month or $10 a year, but it’s the principle. We used to buy an item and then use that item. End of story. Now it’s all a damn subscription. Yes. I wrote those sentences before in the voice of a cartoon old man, but the point still stands.

Anova says the subscription fee only applies to new users. If you already own an Anova cooker and use the app, access is free for you. However, it is now mandatory to create an account. Before this change, this was optional. If you are using an Anova cooker in guest mode, create that account immediately.

These cookers can be used without the app, but then they become sous vide-only devices (but that’s OK). The app allows for remote settings, access to status updates, reviewing recipes, and more.

“Our community has cooked literally hundreds of millions of times using our app. Unfortunately, every connected cook costs us money,” wrote company CEO Stephen Svajian in a blog post. Svajian did not elaborate on how much money the use of simple Bluetooth features costs the company, but whatever.

But the bad news doesn’t end there. Anova has all the smart features. This applies to the Bluetooth and Bluetooth + Wi-Fi models of the original Anova Precision Cooker. Not even a subscription will save these devices, although the change doesn’t come into effect until 2025.

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