Philips Essential XL Connected Air Fryer HD9280/91 review

Keen to see how well this connected air fryer works on a day to day basis, we trialled it in our kitchen over the course of a month.

We used it to prepare a range of foods including the obvious choice of frozen chips, and tried recipes for both Naked Chicken Tenders and Air Fryer Broccoli and Cauliflower.

Other things we monitored included how quietly the air fryer performed, which we monitored while in use with the Decibel Meter app. We also assessed how easy it is to navigate the digital control panel and to clean, and how well the smart app control performed.

Although it has a large, deep 6.1 litre basket, the Philips Essential XL Connected HD9280/91 is surprisingly light in hand.

Setting it up was a simple matter of taking it out of the box and plugging it in. We then flicked through the not-so-user-friendly user manual to try and decipher the digital display. This has illuminated icons to illustrate the different pre-sets, which we found a little tricky to work out compared to air fryers that simply spell out the functions with written words. 

The air fryer comes with an app so you can control it using your smartphone. It is also Alexa-compatible so you can link to your smart speaker and use voice control.

Favouring old school methods, we must admit that the smart aspect of this air fryer is not something that initially excited us. It also took a few attempts to get the air fryer to pair with our smart phone due to a poor Wi-Fi signal, which we found frustrating.

Once we had finally paired our smartphone to the air fryer and created an account on Philips’ NutriU app, we were pleasantly surprised at how many inspirational air fryer recipes we found.

We were also pleased to find clear instructions on the app showing what the seven pre-set cooking modes offered – including options for savoury “frozen potato-based snacks” (aka chips), chicken drumsticks, and sweet pre-sets for “muffins and cake”. 

With its shiny black finish and compact design, we think this air fryer looks timeless enough to suit both traditional and contemporary kitchens.

It doesn’t feel too bulky, heavy or imposing on the worktop, and we found the drawer handle comfortable to hold and pull. We did, however, find that the digital control panel on the front of the actual air fryer took a little while to get used to. 

While the temperature and timing controls are easily identifiable with up and down arrows, we had to refer to the app to work out what the pre-set cooking modes did.

While it’s partly a touch screen, the digital control panel still requires you to use the menu button to select one of seven pre-sets.  

To stop the cooking drawer sliding out, you’ll need to make sure there’s enough room on the worktop in front of the air fryer to dish up your food. The cooking basket, however, is generous and we were impressed at just how much food we could place inside.

With its unique starfish design in the base of the cooking basket, this machine, like all the best air fryers,  uses rapid air technology to swirl hot air around the basket and cook your food.

It has arrows on the front of the air fryer that allow you to choose your preferred temperature and timing settings – and this is something you’ll need to do, as we found it to be a little generous with timings. 

We could effectively adjust the settings to roast, grill, bake, reheat and more. And, with no preheating needed, we found it quick to use.

We paired it with the NutriU App over Wi-Fi, which gave us access to plenty of recipe inspiration. This also made it easy for us to control the air fryer remotely around the house, so we could start and stop it, and check how much time was left in the cooking cycle. 

There’s a preset that can take on up to 800g (1lb 12 oz) “frozen potato-based snacks”, for example, and a separate icon for 800g of homemade fries. There’s also a chicken drumstick icon, one for whole fish, one for muffins/cakes, one for meat koteletts, grilled vegetables and a keep warm icon.

When we cooked our broccoli and cauliflower dish, the grilled vegetables setting suggested 18 minutes at 180°C, which we found too long as the broccoli came out a little burnt. We tried again and adjusted the time to 8 minutes at 180°C (356°F), which was plenty for nicely cooked veggies. 

When we tried cooking a 350g portion of frozen chips in the air fryer, we timed it at 180°C for 12 minutes. We did this instead of using the suggested “frozen potato-based snacks” setting that would have cooked them for 31 minutes at 180°C. After 12 minutes, the chips came out nicely browned and tasty. 

Once we had coated our chicken tenders with onion, garlic, olive oil and paprika, we inserted them into the drawer and manually chose to cook them for 15 minutes at 200°C.

Having worked nicely at this temperature in our Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer AF300UK review, we were keen to see how well it performed here. The results were impressive, with chicken tenders that were cooked evenly and nicely crisp on the outside and not too tough on the inside.

Overall, we think this is an air fryer that works wonderfully once you know how. In terms of maintenance, it’s easy to wipe clean and comes with a dishwasher-safe drawer making it one of the easier air fryers to clean that we’ve tested. 

There’s also a handy lock on the handle that secures the inner basket to the drawer, which you can simply press to lift the basket out to easily wash and pop in the dishwasher.

In terms of noise levels, the Philips is one of the quieter air fryers we’ve tried, measuring a whisper-quiet 52 decibels on our Decibel Meter App.

The Philips Essential XL Connected HD9280/91 is a smart air fryer.

Currently priced at £199, it’s not the cheapest single-basket air fryer you can find, but we enjoyed the added value of the app, which features hundreds of inspirational air fryer recipes.

It can also be found at various discounted prices across the internet, so you could find yourself a bargain if you’re lucky.

The Philips Essential XL Connected HD9280 is one of a handful of connected air fryers you can buy online, and, at the time of writing, it was one of the more expensive options.

Like the Philips Essential XL Connected, this smart fryer comes with its own proprietary app and can also be controlled by voice controls via Amazon Alex or Google Assistant.

It’s a bit smaller than the Phillips offering but it has slightly more pre-programmed settings including keep warm, toast, bake and various meat and fish settings. It also comes with a shake reminder feature, not bad for the recommended retail price of £119.99.

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Again this one comes with its own app, which allows you to control the air fryer and monitor what’s cooking, while also getting some recipe inspiration.

It has a low noise output, thanks to the Intelligent SuperDenoise Technology that reduces the noise by 20% and maintains it to a low noise level of 48 dB while working. With a five litre capacity, it is quite a bit smaller than the Phillips air fryer, but would work for a single or duo household.

It’s undeniable a good price, however the outer is a very basic plastic, so may not be as durable as some other options. It could be a good choice if you want an app-controlled air fryer on a budget though.

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Sleek and stylish, we think the Philips Essential XL Connected HD9280/91 air fryer has a lot of attractive features that make it worth considering for your kitchen.

We particularly like the wide temperature control, with no pre-heat time to make you wait around. This allows you to cook a range of fish, meats and vegetables faster than you would in a conventional oven.

Its wipeable design and 30-minute “keep warm” function are a bonus too. The smart app functionality is a useful extra for those who love nothing more than to sit and forget their food until it’s time to serve up.