Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob 60cm HI6443BSCWF Review

Design and Features

• Matt black finish
• Dual bridge zones
• Works with ConnectLife app

The vast majority of induction hobs have a glossy glass finish, which largely makes them all look very similar from a distance, unless you get one with a nice trim, such as the Neff N90 T66YYY4C0.

The Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF distinguishes itself as it has a matt black finish, with a fine textured tone to it. It’s dramatically different to the hobs that I’m used to, and the finish looks amazing.

It’s also a very durable finish, which Hisense says is four times as scratch resistant as glass. Don’t worry about cleaning, either. Sure, the hob picks up marks as you cook on it, but a wipe-down with a microfibre cloth once you’ve finished cooking is all you need to get it clean, as you can see from the images below.

In fact, I found this hob much easier to clean than a glass one, and didn’t have to spend long trying to polish it back into shape.

While the looks are different, the Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF has the same features as the glass Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob 60cm HI6443BSCWF. That’s not an issue, as that hob was one of the best in terms of controls and features, and so too is the  Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF.

This hob has four equal-sized burners, organised into two zones: one on the left and one on the right. Each zone can be bridged together to create a larger burner, which is ideal for big pans or long items, such as griddle pans.

It’s a very sensible layout that gives maximum flexibility, and there’s plenty of space on this hob, regardless of whether you want to use four pans, two larger ones, or anything in between.

Put a pan down, and the corresponding burner’s controls light up automatically. There’s then a simple choice of power mode, running from zero (off) to nine (maximum), with the addition of a Power Boost (P) option.

Power Boost can be used on either of the two burners on the left and either of the two burners on the right at the same time; the other burners can then run at a maximum of power level six.

I could tap anywhere on this control line to select a power level, making this hob quick and easy to use – I’d go as far as to say that it’s the simplest control system on any induction hob.

There’s a dedicated button to bridge two zones into one. Once bridged, both zones’ controls light up, and you can use either line to adjust power. However, the P setting doesn’t work with bridged zones.

Move a pan from one burner to another, and the Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF automatically flashes up the new zone’s controls; tap the highlighted power on the new zone and all heat and timer settings are transferred from the old one.

This makes cooking easy, as I can start with a pan close to me, say for an initial stir fry, and then move the pan to the back to simmer away.

There are also some automated cooking modes, available after hitting the A option, which then displays the options. Due to the slightly dappled finish, the names of the modes are a bit harder to read hear than on the glass version of this hob, although I soon got used to the options, which are: Melt (a gentle heat for things like butter or chocolate); Warm (keep food warm); Simmer (keep food just under boiling point); Grill (for use with griddle pans); Fry (for use when you want to fry food); and Boil (for rapidly boiling a pan of water).

They’re useful modes to have, and take the guesswork out of which power mode to use for a specific task.

Each zone also has a timer, set using the touch controls. When the timer runs out, the zone powers down.

ConnectLife is also supported, with the Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF connecting via Wi-Fi. The app gives monitoring and notifications when a timer runs out, plus you can send power settings directly to the hob from the built-in recipes. 

Performance

• Heats fast
• Useful automated cooking

I found the Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF very fast to heat, with each burner topping out at 3kW on the P setting. To test heat-up speed, I measure how long it takes to bring water from 20°C to 90°C, using different-sized pans and amounts of water.

With my small pan and 500ml of water, the Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF managed to heat the water in 1m 27s, which is just a little slower than the Neff N90.

Moving to the mid-sized pan, filled with 1-litre of water, the heat-up time was a fast 2m 6s.

Finally, for my large pan, filled with 1.5-litres of water, the heat-up time was 2m 59s, which is rapid and similar to the performance you’d expect from a kettle.

Testing the automatic modes showed how good the Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF was, too. I used the Melt option with a block of butter, which was melted slowly, but safely (you may even want to go a little higher with the power setting to get the process started, before leaving the automatic mode to do its job). Once melted, the butter stayed that way without cooking or burning.

For simmering, the Hisense Hi8 Induction Hob HI6443SRWF kept the contents of my pan at a solid 96°C, cooking it without boiling over.

Should you buy it?