The Guardian's consumer technology reviewer tested 10 microwave ovens from leading brands across various price points, evaluating them on everyday tasks such as reheating drinks, cooking jacket potatoes, defrosting and popping popcorn. The review aims to help shoppers pick a model suited to how they actually use a microwave, noting the appliances' speed and lower energy use compared with a conventional oven, particularly useful in hot weather.

Testing involved standardised checks, including heating 250ml of chilled water for two minutes, defrosting a 500g ice block for 10 minutes, and cooking poppadoms and oven chips to assess even cooking and any air-fry function. Top picks include the Panasonic NN-CD88 4-in-1 combi with air fry (£379) as best overall, the Salter DuoWave 2-in-1 (£184) as best budget option, and the LG MH6565CPS NeoChef (£148.98) for best controls.