GE wall oven is a champ even without the Wi-Fi

More Wi-Fi enabled appliances are turning up in Consumer Reports' labs. The sales pitch often goes something like this: We know your life is hectic and you'd rather be doing something else, so here's how to be in two places at once. The GE PT9050FSSS electric wall oven, which can be controlled from a smart phone, comes with that promise. Here's what our tests found.

Baking, broiling, and self-cleaning on the GE PT9050FSSS was impressive, and oven capacity is large, making this $2,600 wall oven very good overall and a recommended model. The convection feature can cut cooking time, especially for large roasts, and the big window and temperature probe let you keep a close eye on what's cooking. GE wants to engage you, so a horizontal red light pulses during preheating and progressively lights up as timed cooking progresses. You get an idea of how much cooking time remains with just a glance.

The GE is the only recommended wall oven that lets you control oven functions from a smart device. We found the app was easy to download on our smart phone and made it possible for us to preheat, set and monitor cooking times, and change settings. The remote control works with your home's Wi-Fi network, not from some coffee shop. That's a safety measure that makes sense. The GE video touting this wall oven doesn't make sense. The woman uses her phone to remotely control her wall oven while she and her family play in what looks like a park.

CR Take: The GE's performance and Wi-Fi capability is impressive, and handy if you want to preheat your oven while folding laundry or check remaining roasting time while you and the kids are in the backyard. But at $2,600, it's the most expensive single wall oven in our list of top picks. Other top picks were even better in our tests and cost less, such as the Maytag MEW9530AW, $1,400, a CR Best Buy. Take a close look at our wall oven Ratings of single and double ovens to find the best wall oven for your budget.  

—Kimberly Janeway