The Verdict
The Panasonic NN-SN65KB is a 1.2 cu.ft. countertop unit that utilizes advanced inverter technology to provide consistent, even heating for everyday meals. As a high-performance compact inverter microwave, it balances a small footprint with sophisticated sensor controls that remove the guesswork from cooking and reheating.Why We Love It (Key Features)
- Patented Inverter Technology: Unlike traditional microwaves that cycle power on and off, this model provides a continuous stream of energy to ensure food is heated evenly from the edges to the center without cold spots.
- Genius Sensor Cooking: With 10 sensor settings, the oven automatically detects steam levels to adjust power and time, ensuring your leftovers or dinners are heated perfectly without manual monitoring.
- Space-Saving Footprint: Designed for efficiency, the unit packs a 13.4-inch turntable into a 1.2 cu.ft. interior, maximizing internal capacity while keeping the exterior size manageable for most countertops.
- Versatile Auto-Settings: Between the 15 auto-cook options and the specific 3-level popcorn button for different bag sizes, you have precise control over your snacks and meals with the touch of a button.
Pros & Cons
- Pros: Even heating via Inverter technology, space-efficient design, automated sensor cooking, and a dedicated Keep Warm setting for up to 30 minutes.
- Cons: Requires dedicated countertop space for placement; features a mandatory child lock that cannot be bypassed.
Who Should Buy This?
This microwave is an excellent choice for homeowners or apartment dwellers who need a reliable, space-conscious appliance that doesn't compromise on cooking quality. It is particularly well-suited for those who frequently reheat leftovers or cook diverse snacks like popcorn and oatmeal, and who value the consistency that inverter-based heating provides over standard microwave models.Frequently Asked Questions
Does this microwave work for different popcorn bag sizes?
Yes, it features a 3-level popcorn button that allows you to select the appropriate setting for 3.2 oz, 2.7 oz, or 1.5 oz bags to ensure the best results.How much counter space does this compact inverter microwave require?
The unit measures approximately 12 1/4 inches high by 20 11/16 inches wide and 15 13/16 inches deep, providing a balance between internal capacity and external footprint.What does the Keep Warm feature do?
The Keep Warm setting allows you to maintain the temperature of items like gravies, vegetables, and dinner rolls for up to 30 minutes after the cooking cycle is complete.
3.0 out of 5 stars Basic User Experience For a microwave of this price I guess i expected it to at least be on the same level of usability as my cheapy 1000w Hamilton Beach one that it is replacing. I wanted something with more power.PROS:Externally it is a fine unit – a nice sturdy looking black box with good tolerances on the door. The display, while somewhat small, is bright.It is certainly powerful compared to my 1000w. A breakfast dish I routinely make that took several minutes in the old one has been reduced by 40-45 seconds in this one.I have not tested the individual popcorn, defrost, etc. etc. to comment on those but I am sure they are fine.CONS:Now to the usability. I may be spoiled, but I expect when I press a button called “Quick 30” that it will start the machine with 30 seconds remaining, with no further action. For this model, “Quick 30” just means putting 30 seconds on the timer but NOT starting the machine. This reduces the total operation from 3 button presses to 2… I guess that is their idea of “Quick?”I have also been spoiled into pressing a number key and having it start up with that number of minutes unless I specifically choose to enter a time. Pressing 1 I would expect it to start up with a minute remaining – unless, as I said, I tell it that I want to input a custom time. But again, expedience is not a concern of this unit. A 1 minute cycle will take not 1 but 4 button presses (1 9 9 Start).The keypad is a typical cheap membrane and is not backlit. This makes midnight snacks into more of a pain but to be fair, most microwaves for whatever reason do not backlight their control panel or use real buttons. I just question whether these manufacturers actually use their own products to realize something basic like a backlit control pad would go a long way towards customer happiness.Once it is running you will notice just how VERY LOUD this fan is. I have not (yet) pulled out a sound meter to measure decibels but the fan is significantly louder than any other appliance in my kitchen, beating out an air fryer to take the crown.You will also notice that the interior of the box being painted a very dark grey makes the illumination by the one LED in the cabinet somewhat poorer than it could be with a white interior. LEDs being cheap they could have afforded a few more of them to provide better monitoring when you are cooking something that might be prone to spillover.OVERALL:I am not going to return the unit despite the annoyances of extra keypresses and poor design choices. I am simply not confident that other brands will not just have a different set of problems. This one does what I wanted it to do – be more powerful than the 1000w Hamilton Beach. But I am taking 2 stars because this is not a cheap box and they really should know how people use them.Variation: Color: Black
5.0 out of 5 stars Works well Panasonic NN-SN65KW Microwave Oven, Inverter, 1200W, 1.2 cu.ft., Sensor.Sold by Amazon and shipped by Amazon.Summary: After 5 weeks of use, I am quite satisfied with this microwave, and I would buy it again. Remove the plastic film on the keypad. The beep can be turned off. Sensor heating works well for me. Illumination is adequate. The door button and door work well. Sound level fine. My previous experience with durability of Panasonic products has been quite good, so I am cautiously optimistic about this microwave.Protective film on keypad: After you receive the oven and confirm that it runs, remove the protective film that covers the keypad. You can use a piece of tape on the corner of the keypad to pull off the protective film. If you don’t remove the protective film, it will deform gradually because it is relatively soft. Removal instructions are in the manual, on page 24, under “7. Control Panel.”Keypad: Using the keypad requires pressing with the tip of your finger (not your fingernail) on the centers of numbers or commands. The keypad will not respond to pressing off-center on a number or command. In practice, this has not been a significant problem. Removing the protective film may help.Beep: When you plug the microwave into an electrical outlet, you will have an opportunity to turn off the microwave’s beep, using instructions on page 11 in the manual. To summarize, press Start twice, then press Timer (More) to cycle between Beep On and Beep Off, and finally press Stop/Reset to confirm the setting. (Here, I skipped over the option to change between Imperial and Metric weight systems.) I leave the beep turned off, yet I notice when the microwave stops running. I sometimes forgot when the beep was audible; perhaps I had beep overload.Power levels: My oven cycles between power levels every few seconds when I use keypad power level 1 or 2. With sensor heating at higher power levels, the microwave sound includes a low-pitched hum every few seconds. However, the output power doesn’t appear to cycle; water boils at the same rate with or without the hum. Sensor heating works well for me; I mostly use sensor level 8 to cook whole grains in a glass bowl without a lid, to prevent boiling over.Illumination: The LED doesn’t have a cover to diffuse the light, but the light nonetheless adequately illuminates the food. I had assumed that the gray interior would make viewing food difficult, but that hasn’t been a problem.Door:. The door button operates easily and quietly. To close the door silently, I press the door button and gradually release it while I close the door.. After microwaving, I keep the door open until any condensation on the door has evaporated.. If the door is opened fully, a spring-loaded detent tries to keep the door open. (Car doors operate in the same manner.) Make sure the door is opened fully before inserting or removing something from the oven, or the detent spring will push the door partly closed.Thoughts about durability:. The statement below is printed on the box; I’m not sure how to interpret the second line:”Manufactured by Panasonic AppliancesMicrowave Oven (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.Shanghai, China, MADE IN CHINA”. The microwave was shipped in the Panasonic box only. Something banged into the box but did not penetrate it; the microwave did not appear to be affected.. I used my previous Panasonic microwave (model NN-T664SF) for 17 years, until the turntable gearing began to growl occasionally. I had been careful to press the door button while closing the door, to prevent the door from banging shut. I was quite pleased with that microwave and its longevity.Variation: Color: White
4.0 out of 5 stars Convenient but strange Our microwave bit the dust after 14 years and I couldn’t find one locally, so I ordered this. It’s the right size and seemed to have good features. I like it okay, but it needs serious improvement. For example, if you want to use “keep warm” you literally have to press a button ELEVEN TIMES. That is CRAZINESS. Why not just be able to use the key pad? And the NOISE. It is extremely noisy. I did read in reviews though that this is the case, so I know there isn’t anything wrong with the machine itself. The kitchen timer, which I use a lot, depend on, is pretty useless. Five pale beeps and it just goes back to the time of day. If you miss it, you miss it, and when I miss it, I FORGET the thing I was timing. Like FOOD or LAUNDRY. LOL But, it is very attractive. The “push-in” to open is very quiet and easy, and unlike some people in the reviews, I don’t find the buttons to be hard to use at all. It’s just that you have to do SO much button-pushing.Variation: Color: White
1.0 out of 5 stars Does not last This microwave is kind of loud, but otherwise worked well for the first year. There are a couple minor annoying things, but they went deal breakers. The glass tray comes out of alignment often, and it’s a bit tough to put back in place. When you use the “30 second” express cook button, it just adds thirty seconds incruments to the microwave. It doesn’t start until you press start. None of that was a deal breaker, but for the cost, I did have higher expectations. However, I was incredibly disappointed by longevity.I’ve had this microwave for a little over a year. It suddenly started arcing. I realized that the enamel on the top of the microwave had flaked, and that is why the microwave is arcing, so I tried to contact the customer support.I registered the product, but couldn’t request help from that page. Instead I had to send in a service request. The website went straight to the Malaysia site so it wouldn’t accept my information. I ended up going through a series of email addresses to submit photos of everything you can imagine. It’s weird that for a company this large, that there isn’t a form or something on the website that you can upload documents directly to. Of course none of the images went through, so I had to go in and submit them again.Then I began answering the a list of questions… Pretty standard including:•What did you place inside the microwave?• What is the material of the item that you put inside the microwave?• Did you place items to be cooked in a container, to be defrosted, or to be warm?• Did you use a cover?• What cooking setting did you use?• What time setting did you enter?• What happened next?Totally get it, that’s relevant to the issue. But then emailed and said that they needed more information including:1) What food was being heated and the serving size?2) How many portions were being cooked? (For example: one bacon strip, two….)3) What type of container was being used?4) What was the microwave oven programmed cook time set for?5) At what point during operation did the problem occur?6) What was the condition of the food after the incident?Just me, or is that kind of repetitive?It’s been a couple weeks since this started, and a week since they, “forwarded the photos and case information to our Product Engineers for review.” No word of an update and no way to check your status on the website.There are no repair people in my area, so I’m worried this is going to turn into a whole saga. I will update with results, but at this rate it will be a while.**Update: when I complained about the wait and asked for an update, they did respond within 24 hours. They offered a partial refund because they don’t have a repair man in my area, and shipping the microwave back and forth isn’t economical. A little frustrating, because the cost has gone up so much since I first bought mine, but I just want to get this settled. That told me to expect my partial refund in a couple weeks.**Variation: Color: White
5.0 out of 5 stars Best heating capabilities After a few weeks of having this microwave I had to write a review. It’s perfect.Condensation doesn’t exist! Soup, frozen meals, heating water… it doesn’t matter what you put in it or how long (up to 11 minutes is the longest I’ve had it running at 1 time) there is not any liquid dripping from the top or soaking the turn plate.The cooking light is bright/visible. When your food is cooking you can actually see the process happening. This is great especially for melting chocolate.It stays clean! Since you can truly keep an eye on your food and it doesn’t produce tons of condensation there aren’t any spills or mess to clean after each use.This size is wonderful. Compared to previous microwaves I’ve owned this one has more top to bottom space and also front to back space.The push button is a requirement for me and it’s smooth and large… simple and quiet.I love the basic buttons. You don’t have to read to find what you’re looking for because there aren’t useless preset buttons. I will say it’s taken getting used to the “30 second add” button. You have to press start after pressing that button. I think most microwaves automatically turn on but this one doesn’t. It will add the 30 seconds if the microwave is already running.The clock is bright but doesnt illumate giving that halo appearance. Which is great if you can’t see well from far away.. like me.I did research for at least a month trying to decide on a microwave that wouldn’t be full of water after each use. I am so happy I went with this one! It’s fantastic 100%Variation: Color: Black
5.0 out of 5 stars Attractive and easy functionality! Bought this to replace my 15 year old Panasonic that was beginning to rust. In full disclosure I did not give it the best care. This looked similar and a learning curve with a 90 year old family member is to be avoided. I like it a lot and so far it is great to use. There are some foibles to be aware of, however. This microwave is super, super light weight, easy to unpack and lift up onto a shelf next to my stove. Because it is so light, pushing to open the door or any button moves it backward. I solved this so far by moving it back on the shelf until the attached spacers on the rear hit the wall. It was still enough room to clear the power cord in the power outlet. You may need to rig some sort of spacer or brace if your area is deeper. The auto child lock is annoying but there are clear directions to disable it. Keep them handy. The time display is bright and not fuzzy like my old one. I can see the time display from across my little kitchen. The interior is easier to clean than my old one. The biggest difference is remembering not to cover or seal whatever I’m heating. Don’t seal plastic wrap over the plate or bowl…fold a side back or leave uncovered. You may want to protect against spatters but let the steam out! The reheat button is perfect for single plates and for casseroles. The coffee/milk button reheats coffee perfectly even in a pottery mug. Watch for how your familiar plates react in this oven, my fiestaware gets hot in this one. All in all, I found this microwave very attractive, worth the price I paid, and easy to get it up and running.Variation: Color: Black
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good & inverter power technique is much appreciated. This is a nice, smoothly controllable way of cooking with a microwave. However, I don’t notice any increase in power output effect beyond that of our older 1050 W oven, but very much improved steady output regulation on settings less than full power. I’m enjoying it but be aware that it does pump out a lot of humidity while in use, so be careful with what you place next to it…sweat accumulates.Variation: Color: Black
5.0 out of 5 stars Affordable. Simple. Easy to use. Easy to clean. Perfect!! Awesome!!! Highly recommend!!Variation: Color: White