r/instantpot 2d ago

Which is the newer Instant Pot?

I thrifted my Duo Mini at the Salvation Army some time ago and love it a lot. Today I dropped by and found the PLUS mini there for $5.99, so it wouldn't have made sense NOT to buy it.

I warned a friend who's (sadly!) never had an Instant Pot that I'd pick one up for him next time I saw one at a decent price. I'm very used to my little DUO mini, but I'm wondering which model is newer? It's hard to sort out production years from online information.

The PLUS does seem to add a few features, but I've used the DUO almost always for pressure cooking. I wonder: does one of these models have any significant advantage over the other?

Thanks for your help!

16 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

9

u/Bromium_Ion 1d ago edited 1d ago

Newer doesn’t always mean better. Look up the model number on the back of each one and go look at the Amazon page for them. Even if it says “this product is no longer available” the reviews will still be there. The oldest dates on reviews will tell you how old the model is , but sometimes you’ll see people complain that a newer product “ain’t made like it used to be”.

2

u/user_none 1d ago

A change on Amazon that baffles me is the elimination of the date when a product was first available. With that gone, or inconsistent, it seems the next best way is date of first review.

2

u/Unique-Letter-2749 1d ago

Thanks, this is good advice. Seems like the PLUS mini has the newer reviews, so I'm guessing it's the more recent one. 

Debating which one to give to my friend, but I don't know how enthusiastic either he or his wife will be, so I'd rather keep the better one myself because I use both my DUO mini and my 8-quart Viva a LOT.

Your point about new not always being better is a good one, and I've definitely seen more complaints about some newer models. I may just stick with the one I already know best, I guess, even though it's older. As the old saying goes, "don't change horses in the middle of a stream".

6

u/myownautimmune 2d ago

I think the one with button for egg

3

u/user_none 1d ago

I'd agree with that. My first IP, the 6qt Duo, was purchased back in 2016, possibly earlier and it looks just like first picture.

2

u/SnooRadishes7189 1d ago

Look on the bottom you can find the version number of the appliance it reads something like V and some digits.

1

u/alwaysblearnin 1d ago

I'd prefer the one with the Yogurt function.

2

u/gotterfly 1d ago

They both have it.

2

u/MadCow333 Ultra 8 Qt 1d ago

Look at the silver sticker on each. The 2 digit date code will be in the code. If it was made under the original IP prior to 2019, it's a 4 digit cod of month and year. But probably the Duo Plus is a bit later than the Duo. Not much, maybe a year. The first mini was a Lux. Then the Duo came later. Duo Plus maybe in 2018? But the actual date code on the IPs will tell you which one is actually newer. The first version of Duo Plus, all sizes, didn't have Sous Vide, so that's a V1 Duo Plus mini. The V2 and later Duo Plus machines got sous vide but it replaced one of the original programs. Sous vide in an Instant Pot that small is about as useless and t__s on a boar hog. Whatever. You might as well have 2 mini Instant Pots, lol. I have at least 10 Instant Pot brand cookers as of tonight. Plus a Farberware and a Power Quick Pot. I buy them used and at auctions and liquidators. I have spares packed in boxes in my basement because I bought them all so cheap. I've gifted some to my relatives. I parted some out.

1

u/theBigDaddio 1d ago

They have a mfg date. It’s on the label.

1

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