Breville Smooth Wave Countertop Microwave BMO850

Overview

The Breville Smooth Wave is a 1,250-watt countertop microwave with inverter technology, sensor cooking, and a soft-close door. It costs roughly two to three times what a good Panasonic inverter microwave costs. The pitch is simple: it heats food more evenly, runs quieter, and has smart presets that actually do what they promise.

After reading through hundreds of owner reviews on Amazon (4.0 stars, 888 ratings) and Best Buy, plus checking what RTINGS and Consumer Reports have to say, the picture is clear: this is a genuinely better microwave in daily use, but the reliability track record doesn't quite match the premium price tag.

Key Features

The Power Smoothing Inverter is the headline tech. Instead of cycling full power on and off (how regular microwaves simulate lower power levels), the Smooth Wave delivers a continuous stream at the exact wattage you select. The practical result: defrosted ground beef that's actually thawed evenly instead of cooked at the edges, and reheated pasta without cold spots in the middle.

Sensor iQ is Breville's auto-cook system. It monitors steam from your food and adjusts power and time on the fly. There are 15 built-in presets, including Smart Cook, Smart Defrost, and Smart Reheat. The specialty settings are where it gets interesting. "Soften butter" and "melt chocolate" both work the way you'd hope, giving you pliable butter and smooth melted chocolate instead of a scorched mess.

The controls are two large dials that also function as push buttons, flanking an LCD screen. It's a departure from the cramped number pads on most microwaves, and several long-term owners on Amazon specifically call out how intuitive the interface is. One reviewer said "99.9% of all the microwaving I do can easily be done using just the front panel" without ever opening the manual.

The soft-close door is 80% quieter than a standard microwave door according to Breville, and the unit itself runs about 50% quieter overall. You can also silence all beeps, including the end-of-cycle chime. If you microwave things late at night, this matters.

Performance

The inverter technology makes a real difference you can feel in daily use. Owners consistently report that defrosting is where the Smooth Wave pulls ahead of conventional microwaves. Frozen meat thaws gently and evenly. Reheated leftovers come out at a uniform temperature rather than scorching hot at the edges and lukewarm in the center.

The sensor presets take slightly longer than manually punching in time and power, because the microwave intentionally runs at lower wattage for more even results. One Best Buy reviewer who has owned it for over 10 months and uses it "many times a day" called it "by far the best microwave I've ever experienced" specifically because of how well the sensor functions work.

The coffee/tea reheat preset is a nice touch. It gets your drink hot without boiling it, so you can drink it immediately. Multiple owners flag this as a feature they use daily.

At 1,250 watts, it has plenty of power for quick heating when you need it. The 1.2 cubic foot interior fits standard dinner plates and most casserole dishes comfortably. The interior is brightly lit, so you can actually watch your food cook through the window, a detail several Amazon reviewers specifically sought out after using microwaves where you couldn't see anything.

Build Quality & Design

The exterior is brushed stainless steel and looks like a premium appliance. It weighs 34.4 lbs and measures 20.4" x 17.5" x 12.4", so it's a substantial countertop presence. You'll want to measure your space before buying.

The soft-close door feels high-end and is genuinely quiet. The dual dials are smooth and responsive. Breville's Australian design heritage (the brand is sold as Sage in Europe) shows in the details: the control layout, the display readability, the interior lighting. It feels like someone actually thought about how people use a microwave.

That said, the reliability picture is mixed. A recurring theme across Amazon reviews is the E05 error code, which indicates an electronic failure. Some owners hit this within months; others after 2-3 years. One Amazon reviewer had their transformer blow out at the three-year mark, and several others report the microwave tripping their circuit breaker. A reviewer who initially gave it 5 stars dropped to 1 star after their unit died, writing "it's hard to justify 400 bucks for such an unreliable appliance." Another owner on Best Buy went through three replacements due to a fan that kept running after cooking cycles ended.

These aren't universal problems. Plenty of owners report years of trouble-free use. But the failure reports are frequent enough, and consistent enough in their symptoms, to be a legitimate concern.

Value for Money

The Smooth Wave is expensive for a microwave. A Panasonic NN-SN67K with similar inverter technology and sensor cooking runs about half the price. Panasonic has been making inverter microwaves since 1988, and according to Mashed's survey of customer reviews, Panasonic is the most liked microwave brand. The Panasonic won't be as quiet, the controls aren't as refined, and it lacks the soft-close door, but the core cooking technology is comparable.

Where the Breville earns its premium is in the user experience: the dial controls, the quiet operation, the bright interior, the thoughtful presets. If those things matter to you and you cook with your microwave regularly beyond reheating coffee, the upgrade is noticeable. If you mostly press "2 minutes" and walk away, a Panasonic at half the cost will serve you just as well.

Who Should Buy This

You'll get the most out of the Smooth Wave if you use your microwave frequently for varied tasks (defrosting, reheating, melting, softening) and you're tired of uneven results. If you have an open kitchen where appliance noise and aesthetics matter, the quiet operation and clean design are real selling points. It's also a solid pick if you're replacing a built-in microwave and want something that looks intentional on the counter rather than like a dorm room leftover.

Who Should Skip This

If reliability is your top priority, the scattered reports of electronic failures are hard to ignore at this price. A Panasonic inverter microwave gives you 90% of the cooking performance for half the cost with a longer track record. If your microwave use is mostly reheating and you don't care about soft-close doors or specialty presets, spending this much on a microwave doesn't make sense. And if counter space is tight, the Smooth Wave's 34-pound, 20-inch-wide footprint might be a dealbreaker. Look at the Toshiba ML2-EM09PA or other compact models instead.