An iconic kitchen appliance gets a major upgrade.
While previous versions of the mixer used an electromechanical control system inside, the new Artisan Plus features a microcontroller-based system with a Hall effect sensor for more precision.
The new features sound nice, but the old system can last a lifetime. I don’t need everything around me to be “smart” and have more points of failure.
💯 never have i ever worried about the precise speed.
Yeah, this is what makes me nervous too. I prefer to keep things dumb and rock solid where it makes sense to do so.
We currently have the bigger 6 quart mixer and are considering downgrading to the artisan for space reasons. I’m thinking I’d probably still opt for the older model.
This would be so much more repairable as a potentiometer-opamp pair or similar depending on how it works.
While I get the broader point — don’t fix what isn’t broken — I’d generally trust a solid-state system to outlast a mechanical system, if your concern is longevity. Mechanical parts wear. Microcontrollers just kinda keep on going.
EDIT: I’d add, though, that I haven’t had a problem with the Kitchenaid blender that I use, whereas I’ve killed a few prior blenders of other brands, so I’m already not super concerned about Kitchenaid appliances just up and dying.
Microcontrollers just kinda keep on going.
Until they just stop. Randomly. And now your thing is completely dead with no chance at repair because the “do everything” chip is under a blob of epoxy.
Yeah, imagine open source control electronics though.
Similar to 3d printers, then we could have microcontrollers and it’d still be repairable.
In theory that should be true but in practice the controller on my appliances die in ~10 years.
My old kitchenaid mixer is a little finicky. If I remember right, there’s 3 screws you need to adjust to get the speed right, and they need to be balanced otherwise it’s really inefficient and noisy. It might be user error, but mine is definitely weirdly noisy and not quite working right.
It looks like they did fix my one complaint on the original and that’s the tool attachment often “sticks” making it difficult to swap from, say, the dough hook to the paddle.
Original attachments:
New attachments:
How to “un-stick” an attachment:
Looks like they are ditching the zinc cast paddles for stainless?
That’s a bonus. Probably a legal thing too because of that whole lead controversy.
https://www.kitchenaid.com/safety-statement-on-stand-mixers-and-lead.html
I am going to need the EMTBadge dude to tell me if this is tapered
Take an old one with a damaged motor and hack in a vfd. It’ll be more precise and a decent vfd will last about as long as the rest of the mechanical components.
they specifically mention a half speed for folding - i don’t trust a mechanical process for something that is intended to be gentle and requires different mechanics than a simple lateral spin
While previous versions of the mixer used an electromechanical control system inside, the new Artisan Plus features a microcontroller-based system
Yeah that’s gonna be a no for me, dog. Just waiting for next year’s version to ship with “Aidsy, our new AI cooking assistant!”
- Microcontroller complexity that affects repair.
- Mixing at a variable speed isn’t important to most home cooks.
- Bull crap with led lighting.
Thanks but no thanks. I’ll stick to my now two decades old kitchen aid that I’ve repaired a few times now without any issue.
Old version last 50 years.
New version last 5 months.
I can smell the enshitification.
I replaced my KitchenAid with an Ankarsrum. No regrets.
Nice but why not get a Thermomix instead
Tilt head still sucks…
“Upgrade”
