Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First things first. This is not a fryer but a mini convection oven and it performs similarly to other convection ovens, majority of which are far more versatile and are selling for less. I got mine as a gift. It is the version that sells in Canada and it does not come with food separator or baking dish. With retail price over $200, you'd expect these things to be included. How well does it perform? It makes decent baked fries in about 20-25 mins. The results do not compare to a deep fryer in terms of taste, but then this appliance should be compared to other convection ovens and not to deep fryers. While baking is healthier than deep frying, the notion of "guilt-free chips/fries" is fallacious as the main problem with potatoes in general is their starch content. It breaks down into sugar and messes up your brain receptors that signal you to stop eating because you're full. I can't believe people still fall for this low fat nonsense. If you're watching your weight, you should be more concerned about grains and sugar. Other items I tried in it were salmon fillets (about 10 mins, results identical to baking salmon in conventional oven) and raw sausages (10 mins, again, same as baked). With raw sausages, right at the end of the cooking cycle, the smoke coming out of the back became very intense and set off my smoke detector. It's a good idea to keep an eye on your foods if they have higher fat content. Don't expect to feed a crowd using this convection oven. It will cook enough food to feed 2-3 people. 4+ means you have to cook in batches so the time savings go out of the window, you're better off using your conventional oven. The appliance is mostly hard plastic. It feels solid. Cooking basket is metal with some type of Teflon/non-stick coating. Cleaning has been problem-free so far. Similar to any other non-stick pan. A special shout-out goes to the Philips marketing dept: 1) "Air Fryer" is an oxymoron. Dictionary defines frying as cooking in oil. "Air frying" and "rapid air technology" are known as convection baking outside the Philips headquarters. There is nothing "revolutionary" about them. 2) "Healthy", "healthier" and "guilt-free" is plastered all over the box. Healthier than what? Deep fryers? Sure. Other convection ovens? No. *Speaking of "healthy". Philips conveniently does not mention whether the basket's Teflon coating contains toxic materials or whether the plastics in close proximity to food contain BPA. 3) "Oil free cooking" is an outright lie and one of the Philips ads mentioning it was banned in the UK. Their excuse was that frozen packaged chips/fries already have oil in them so it doesn't count. By that logic, I can enjoy oil free cooking in my cast-iron frypan if I get somebody else to put in there. Brilliant! Not that there's anything wrong with adding good quality and healthy olive oil to your baked food. In conclusion, it is very hard to recommend this small convection oven at this price point. You are far better off spending $100-150 on a larger and more versatile convection oven from Cuisinart, Breville or Panasonic. Or, if you're comfortable with slightly longer cooking times, just stick with your conventional oven. It "air fries" your food just as well. *Extra star taken off for deceptive marketing. **It turned out to be difficult to find objective reviews of this product on the web. The majority appear to be disguised advertisements. I added the links I found to be most useful in my research in a comment below my review.