LG

Just last week, Tovala announced expansion into recognizing grocery store frozen food on its $349 smart countertop oven. Monday, ahead of KBIS 2019, LG announced plans to integrate Tovala IQ technology into its smart ovens and ranges.

Vanessa Salas/CNET

Tovala's countertop oven recognizes Tovala brand meal kits or frozen food items from Trader Joes when you hold the barcode up to the oven's scanner. Tovala Meals are sold via Tovala's website as weekly subscriptions ranging from three to 12 meals per week at $12 each. That isn't cheap, but the meals we tested while reviewing Tovala's latest oven tasted good and came in large portions.

With the LG smart oven integration, you will scan the meal's barcode on your mobile device's Tovala app, then place the meal in the oven and press start in the app. From there, the LG smart oven or range automatically preheats and cycles through the temperatures and cooking techniques specific to that meal.

LG works with several other recipe and smart cooking partners, including Innit, SideChef and Drop. Those platforms allow users to curate personalized meals from recipes available via the apps and send cooking instructions to their LG range or oven. Innit is coming to LG's Wi-Fi enabled luxury line, Signature Kitchen Suite, this year.

There's no word yet on the pricing or availability of LG's new Tovala feature, highlighted in the LG LWC3063BD double wall oven. However, the team at LG told me the feature will work with 2019 smart ovens and perhaps retroactively with 2018 models.