REASONS TO BUY
Small form factor
Fairly inexpensive
REASONS TO AVOID
Low power
Didn't heat very evenly in our tests
RCA RMW733 Review
This appliance earned overall very lackluster results, putting it far from the top of our rankings when it comes to these products
RELATED: Best Microwaves of 2023
Our Verdict
All in all, the RCA RMW733 overall earned some disappointing results. It didn't do a completely terrible job but was mediocre at best in our minds. It's a compact, low-power output option that comes with a relatively lower price tag, but we would recommend going with a different option for most people.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The RCA RMW733 is a 700 watt, 0.7 cubic foot appliance but just because it has a lower power output doesn't necessarily give it cause for its lower score. We've tested other similarly rated microwaves that delivered much more consistent results.
Performance Comparison
Overall, we weren't that impressed with the performance of this microwave.
Credit: Laura Casner
Likes
Our list of things we like for this microwave is on the smaller side, but we were impressed with how evenly this product heated up a Hot Pocket and a frozen burrito. The Hot Pocket only showed an average temperature difference of 2°F between the left, right, and center areas. There was a bit more of an average difference between the three measurement points with the frozen burrito, raising to 13°F.
This microwave also did a decent job, like many of the other products, at heating the canned soup. The RCA RMW733 finished out its list of favorable performances with a slightly above average performance in our ground turkey defrosting test.
We did appreciate that the RMW733 defrosted more than half of the ground turkey.
Credit: Laura Casner
It defrosted a little less than 11 ounces of the one-pound block of ground turkey. However, the remaining 5 ounces were still quite frozen and hard to break up.
Dislikes
The RCA RMW733 delivered poor performances in most of the tests in our heating metric, heating slower and more unevenly than many of its competitors based on its performance in our heat map and speed tests. It also didn't do very well with the plate of leftovers and the pizza reheating test. The heat map with marshmallow fluff showed the middle ring getting much more cooked than the center ring.
For our speed test, we heated a small beaker of water and measured the temperature increase. This microwave only managed to increase the temperature of the water by 66.4°F — much less than the 100+°F of the top models. The plate of sausage, green beans, and potatoes also didn't heat up very evenly using the reheat function. None of the three types of food were warm enough to eat without additional time in the microwave, though they wear all within 20°F of each other.
We run a series of tests and include real-world use aimed at finding the critical differences between some of the most compelling products on the market.
Credit: Laura Casner
The two slices of pizza also weren't very consistently heated. One came out alright but the other had a giant cool spot in the middle. The RMW733 continued its trend of lackluster results in our lasagna test, with the average temperature difference between regions being 17°F and the largest being 39°F.
The RCA created some clear thermal gradients in the frozen lasagna.
Credit: Laura Casner
Finally, we also were very disappointed that this microwave doesn't have a +30 seconds button and easily slides around on a counter with normal use.
The lack of a "+30 Seconds" button is a bit of a dealbreaker in our minds.
Credit: Laura Casner
Value
While the RMW733 is a fairly inexpensive option, we think its relatively low performance precludes it from being a great bargain option in our mind.
Conclusion
Overall, we think the RCA RMW733 delivered poor enough results that we struggled to recommend it and we would usually recommend other models for just about everyone.
—
David Wise and Austin Palmer
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