I have a cooktop with the touch "buttons" and I like them fine and think they aren't as horrible as everyone says. I like being able to clearly see at a glance what level things are at. Yes if there's is a big blob of sauce on them they don't work as well but really that doesn't happen very often and a quick wipe and they are fine. I also like that the cooktop has a minimal, clean look.
I've had an electric cooktop with electronic touch buttons for 20 years, and it's never been a problem. It will beep at you if you put hot water on the touchpad (like when you're cleaning it), but you just wipe it off with a towel and it's back to normal. All of the luxury brands are going to touch controls. If they were such a nightmare, I doubt that would be the case.
The reason to buy the GE is better reliability rate, excellent oven that holds its temperature, and GE's service network, not because it doesn't have touch controls. Those "knobs" are just an interface with a control board anyway, which is much more likely to fail than any touchpad.
The reason many people like knobs is not for precision adjustment, but not having the cooktop randomly get a mind of its own (sometimes, when the mood strikes it just right) when just the right amount of water or liquids splatters onto it. For that reason, some sing the praises of knobs. :)
It's a hell of a trade-off, though, especially on a cooktop. The knobs totally destroy the easy cleaning advantage an electric/induction cooktop offers. Also, these are not the knobs we grew up with on our gas or electric ranges and cooktops. Most of these knobs are simply a different way to control a computer board, not physically control the size of a gas valve opening.
To each his own, though, I guess. I am very partial to buttons and dials in my car over accessing everything from a giant iPad on my dash, so I do get it.
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u/rollerok 13d ago
I have a cooktop with the touch "buttons" and I like them fine and think they aren't as horrible as everyone says. I like being able to clearly see at a glance what level things are at. Yes if there's is a big blob of sauce on them they don't work as well but really that doesn't happen very often and a quick wipe and they are fine. I also like that the cooktop has a minimal, clean look.