Not generally, by neither are they more expensive generally.
However, there's a large section of consumers that see that sort of thing and somehow assume it means the product is of higher quality, or that's what comes up in the marketing meetings I've had to sit through whilst advocating for mechanical switches.
They are definitely cheaper most of the time. They are often just a trace on a PCB.
Product designers hate mechanical switches because they are almost always the first thing to wear out. Including a switch robust enough to last as long as the rest of the product is generally too expensive for consumer electronics.
Capacitive buttons can be made much better with some kind of instant feedback to replace the tactile feedback of physical buttons.
The problem is that adding that kind of feedback costs money. Even if it's just a few pennies per device, most manufacturers won't do it for consumer devices. That kind of penny pinching is the reason I avoid consumer grade products if at all feasible.
Yeah, a lot of microcontrollers have integrated capacitive sensing (Atmel calls it QTouch, other manufacturers have similar). In that case a capacitive button is very near free, as you only need an extra trace that is reliable to fabricate and requires minimal extra soldering.
Capacitive buttons have some distinct advantages too, primarily being waterproof and nearly infinite durability. A lot of UI issues like OPs stove are likely poor software, there is no real reason why a capacitive button would need a 700 ms pause between actions. Now, the lack of tactile feedback is a more fundamental problem sometimes, but capacitive buttons can be great when implemented well.
Capacitive also has some drawbacks. Like with this oven... They tend to be temperature sensitive, depending on shielding. Delays with QTouch aren't unusual above 120F.
Our supplier delivers capacitive switches at about $80 per thousand, resistive at $75 per thousand, and tactile at $95 per thousand.
However resistive needs fine-tuning, and really shouldn't be used in dusty or hot environments. Which adds design time and shielding costs.
In our internal research, they end up costing about equal. But we are small, so it might change at a larger scale, though I'd expect those differences to shrink.
You can include capacitive inputs on a PCB in many cases for essentially zero cost.
You also don't need to engineer attachment points into the product chassis, and assembly is easier.
In addition, they can improve the lifespan of the product because they don't wear out nearly as fast, and they don't provide ingress for dust and water.
Capacitive inputs have many downsides, but at scale they are certainly cheaper on average.
In your particular case they may not be cheaper due to other design considerations.
It definitely looks more sort of futuristic, I have to concede that. Too bad we have to actually use these devices instead of just admiring them in the shop. Thank you for advocating mechanical buttons.
In the 70s my family bought a microwave oven. It had one knob with a dial, which you would turn clockwise to the number of minutes. The microwave would immediately start (if closed, of course) and count down. The gradations had a logarithmic scale. If you wanted to stop early, you turned the knob counterclockwise to zero.
That interface was genius. These days I sob and cry every time I have to figure out how to use an unfamiliar microwave.
Those are still easy to come by. I was buying one for an 83-year-old relative last christmas, and there was plenty of choice even. We ended up with a Whirlpool model that even dings a physical bell once when it finishes.
As for regular oven tops, we spent some time finding an induction model with physical buttons. It's wonderful and I enjoy using it every day. It's very tactile. Throw a kettle on and slam it to "P" in 30 milliseconds, aah I love it.
Those are still readily available. I dislike the knob only design (with no time display) since it makes having something in for 15 seconds or w/e harder, but that might just be me.
They still make dial microwaves, I got one, I think it's a Pana --but unlike the previous one I had (don't recall the make) once set, you can't readjust time. Either terrible design, or maybe a patent preventing the adding of time while the microwaving continues. For example, if It think that instead of 30 secs, I want to readjust it to 40 when it's down to 20 to make a total of 50, I have to wait till it winds all the way down (or stop and set a new clock) -bummer
I don't think is a patent ( maybe it was ). I have a relatively new one, german made, that works exactly like that: two knobs, one for setting the power and one for setting the time.
Both are on the fly adjustable, both power and time. I find it really good design.
That's good to hear. I miss my on-the-fly adjustable one. When it broke down, I looked but could not find a small one (<=.9fcu), so I went with a Pana that had a dial since I rather dislike the touchpad ones.
If you're ever looking for a toaster, check out Dualit (the classic, not whatever cheap plastic one they peddle to price-segment). I use mine every day and interface-wise, it's pretty much the most satisfying moment of every day.
Not generally, by neither are they more expensive generally.
However, there's a large section of consumers that see that sort of thing and somehow assume it means the product is of higher quality, or that's what comes up in the marketing meetings I've had to sit through whilst advocating for mechanical switches.