Starting on August 21st, 2024, Anova is set to introduce a subscription fee for new users of its sous vide cookers who desire to avail the additional features accessible through its mobile companion app, such as the ability to control the appliance remotely. Just like the Snoo, a smart bassinet that recently made previously free features available only through a monthly subscription, Anova’s charges – $1.99 per month or $9.99 per year – will only be applicable to new users who create an account in the app from August 21st. As clarified in a blog post published on the company’s website last week, existing users and those who purchase an Anova cooker before August 21st can continue to utilize all the app’s features for free. However, everyone will now be obliged to create an account for this. Previously, creating an account was optional. All three sous vide cookers currently offered by Anova can be operated independently without the app. The extra functionality that the subscription brings “will vary from product to product,” as stated by the company. Most of it focuses on convenience, including the capacity to start a sous vide cook, adjust the temperature remotely, receive cooking status updates, and access to recipes, along with the option of bookmarking and sharing them with others. Anova CEO Stephen Svajian elucidated that the subscription emerged as a consequence of the expanding user base. “As our community has grown, so have the demands on our resources. Our community has cooked hundreds of millions of times using our app. Unfortunately, each connected cook incurs costs for us.” The new fees will be utilized to “maintain and enhance the app.” Although numerous users have expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision in the comments of the blog post, Anova is giving consumers the choice whether they wish to pay more for the company’s products, rather than simply increasing the price of its hardware, as pointed out by Digital Trends.