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Philips Premium Airfryer XXL Review

Philips invented the air fryer, and hence, theirs are named “airfryers” (with no space). The Premium XXL model that we tested performed incredibly well, but it does come at a premium price.

Philips Premium Airfryer XXL with TesrHut logo

4.2
4.7
4.0
3.0
4.7
4.3

Pros

  • Great cooking results every time
  • Easy to use
  • Smart sensing technology
  • Large capacity (3.75l)
  • Very safe
  • Fast cooking

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Hard to clean; lots of parts
  • Bulky and heavy
  • Delicate nonstick coating

Cooking performance

The feature that sets the XXL apart from any other air fryer in our test is its “Smart Sensing” technology. While this seems like a gimmick, and we aren’t sure how it works, the Philips actually adjusts the time according to how much food you add, and most of the time, the cooking results are amazing.

Philips Premium Airfryer XXL cooking test

In almost all of our tests, the Philips XXL out performed every other air fryer. French fries were evenly cooked and crispy, and the sponge cake was the best-in-test with crispy edges and a moist center.

It cooked more evenly across the surface and from top to bottom than any other air fryer in our test. The woven basket design allows air to flow freely around food, and it has a shake reminder while cooking to make sure you give your food a proper turn. In fact, it will literally stop cooking until you open and close the drawer.

It also heats accurately, fluctuating from 156° – 179°C when set to 165°C. This was one of the better results in our test.

Capacity

As an XXL model, it has a large capacity (3.75l). We were impressed by the image on the box which shows a whole roasted chicken, golden brown, resting in the basket. We put this to the test, and you can, indeed, roast a whole chicken to perfection in this air fryer. You can also fit about 17 chicken nuggets or 4 corn cobs in the basket at once. It doesn’t hold quite as much as the Ninja Dual, but it still can cook a lot of food. We think it is big enough for 4 people.

Air Fryer Philips Premium Airfryer XXL chicken

Cleaning

Cleaning is one area that the Philips XXL lost points in. While all of the components are dishwasher compatible, washing by hand proved to be a chore. With its “fat removal” technology, the pan has an irregular shape and an insert that has to be removed before cleaning. When you get a lot of grease in there (like after you cook a whole chicken), it makes for a messy experience. All the parts take up a lot of room to wash and dry as well.

Air Fryer Philips Premium Airfryer XXL cleaning parts

Ease of use

The Philips XXL had our favorite control set up and was super easy to operate. It is the only air fryer that has an actual hanging drawer on rails which allows you to access and remove the basket without taking out the pan. This makes shaking and stirring easier than any other fryer in our test. It also has a premium feel because of the smooth operation.

Air fryer Philips Premium XXL controls

The controls are simple and intuitive. It has 5 presets for the most common foods like frozen french fries or chicken wings. A clicky dial in the center allows you to precisely set the time and temperature, and it even has a favorite button so you can store your favorite preset. Philips also has an app with recipes. You can set the temperature from 40° – 200°C which is a good range, and the timer goes up to 60 minutes.

It includes a “keep warm” function which keeps your food warm for up to 30 minutes once the cycle ends along with its convenient shake reminder.

This powerful air fryer was one of the fastest in our test, crisping up our nuggets and vegetables in just 10 minutes. In our bacon test, it was not as fast as the top performers, but the bacon was crispy and delicious. Even with that much power, it is relatively quiet running at just 64 dB, which is about as loud as a normal conversation.

Philips Premium Airfryer XXL TestHut loudness test

Philips provides an excellent instruction manual with abundant information about using the air fryer as well as a book of recipes. In addition, you can access hundreds of recipes via the app.

Build quality and design

We think that when it comes to build quality, Philips is among the best. The fit and finish of both the Philips XXL and Essential are excellent, and it stays cool while cooking, so it was one of the safest air fryers in our test.

This is one of the better looking air fryers with a nice shiny black surface and copper accents. It has a premium look and feel.

Philips Premium Airfryer XXL design

It is not very portable with a large footprint and it weighs over 8 kg. It was also one of the few pod-shaped air fryers with no carrying handles built in.

It is a 2200 watt air fryer, so it uses quite a bit of power when it is running, and it also uses power in standby mode, so it isn’t the most energy efficient option.

What we didn’t like

The most painful part of owning the XXL is keeping it clean. Honestly, if we just cooked some nuggets or something that wasn’t too messy, we just let the crumbs stay in the pan, leaving it to be cleaned for the next time. We imagine that if you use a dishwasher, the chore would be much less of a pain.
Another problem was that the Teflon coating on the basket and pan were easy to scrape away in our durability tests, and we noticed signs of wear after testing.

We also noticed a problem with smoking. Only a few other air fryers had any issues with producing smoke while cooking, but the Philips was like a chimney during our bacon test.

[videopack id=”1813″]https://www.testhut.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/09/Philips_XXL_smoking.mp4[/videopack]

Conclusion

The Philips XXL takes air frying to the next level with its Smart Sensing technology and smooth, drawer-like basket design. The controls are super easy to use, and best of all, it cooks perfectly almost every time you use it. You will not be disappointed if you decide to go for this premium air fryer.

Air Fryer OVERALL SCORE Cooking performance (40%) Basket size (20%) Cleaning (20%) Ease of use (10%) Build quality and design (10%)
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone (AF300EU) 4.3 4.2 5.0 4.0 4.3 4.1
Philips XXL (HD9860/90) 4.2 4.7 4.0 3.0 4.7 4.3
Ninja Foodi MAX Grill (AG551EU) 4.0 4.8 4.0 3.0 3.6 3.7
Uten 5.5L (1700) 3.9 3.8 4.5 4.0 3.1 3.9
COSORI 5.5L Smart 3.8 3.4 4.5 4.0 3.9 4.2
Princess (182055) 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.5 3.0 4.0
Philips Essential (HD9252/90) 3.3 2.8 2.0 5.0 3.6 4.1
Severin Hot Air Fryer (FR 2430) 3.2 2.9 2.0 4.5 3.7 3.3
Sage Smart Oven Air Fryer (SOV860) 2.7 2.2 3.5 2.0 2.8 4.0
Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1 (YV970800) 2.5 2.5 3.0 1.5 2.7 3.3

Philips XXL Features & Specs

Category Value
Air Fryer Type  Basket
Capacity (to Max line) 3.75l
Surface capacity 506 cm²
Dimensions (HxWxD) 31 x 32 x 42 cm
Weight 8.3 kg
Presets/Cooking Settings 5 presets w/ Smart Sensing
Nonstick Coating Teflon
Dishwasher safe Yes
Wattage 2000W
Temperature Range 40 - 200°C
Timer 1 - 60 min
Loudness during operation (Max as tested) 64 dB

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